A Cat's World
by Lunoon
Summary: Hybrids are very special cats that have the ability to change into human forms. Watch as four of these interesting fluffballs struggle to reunite with one another and find their mates along the way. Pairings listed inside.
1. Chapter 1

An idea that's actually been in my head for quite some time now, I hope you all like it.

Pairings: Spamano, Gerita, PruCan, USUK

Disclaimers: If I did own Hetalia...I have no idea what I would do with it. But I don't so whatever. X3

The world is full of millions of cats of many different breeds. They all look like normal cats, but there are a select few that are something much more. Hidden among millions, there are but hundreds that are Hybrids. This is a different type of hybrid than what most people think. These are special cats that have the ability to turn into humans.

They are also immune to death, but only under certain conditions. These creatures are born as humans and gain the ability to switch between their forms at the age of 10. However, they stop aging at the age of 20. From then on, they have a total of 100 years to find their destined mate who could be hidden anywhere among billions of humans. If they cannot, their age will catch up with them and they will die.

Many consider their traits a curse. Others see their temporary immortality as a gift. However, if they do manage to find their mate in the allotted time, both mates will be able to gain immortality permanently. Not many actually know what happens if they find their mate, since it is so rare to actually do so. It's a process of trial and error for the majority of Hybrids. They will know immediately if it is their mate by kissing them. Something magical will happen to both parties.

This story will focus on four cats in particular. So, shall we begin?

An employee walked towards the door to the store and flipped a sign to indicate that they were open. The slight noise of the worker moving was enough to wake one of the cats in the cage. The cat stood up from his curled position and stretched like every cat does, before sitting and staring at the other occupants.

His name was Lovino Vargas, and he and his brother had accidentally gotten themselves caught by animal control. There are quite a few of them running around this area. Fucking bastards. He turned to where his younger brother was still sleeping with an overly cheery expression even in sleep. Feliciano would be waking up sometime soon, but for now he was happy his obnoxious brother was asleep. He then turned and looked sadly at the third cat that was facing the wall. A wave of pity washed over him as he recalled the cat's story.

His name was Matthew, and he had been caught along with his brother. They were Hybrids, like Feliciano and himself. They had also been forming an escape plan, but something had thrown a wrench in their plans. A man had come in and adopted the other cat, leaving Matthew alone. He and Feliciano came about a week afterwards.

He sympathized with Matthew after thinking about how he would've reacted if some bastard suddenly took Feli away. However, thinking about it would get him nowhere anytime soon. Matthew had explained their plan to them and they were going to execute it tonight. They would wait until all the employees had left and one of them would change into their other form, then they would proceed to open the cage and leave as cats. They had spent the last few days watching the camera at the back, and realized that it wasn't even turned on. For all they knew, it might not even work.

The bell rang behind him and he turned to see two men walking into the store. One was a brunette with jade eyes who walked straight over to their cage. The other, an albino, was complaining about something but followed him. The brunette looked at him and Lovino felt the urge to hide, but there was nowhere in the cage to do so. The men began to speak to one another, so he stayed silent and listened.

"Well, here are the gatos! Do you see one your brother would like?" The man spoke with a thick Spanish accent. At the mention of adoption, Lovino stepped back until he was right next to Matthew.

"I still don't see why I'm getting West a cat. He loves dogs!" The other had a German accent, but bent over to look at the cats. His attention went to Feliciano, who was still lying near the front of the cage. "This one looks fine, cute too. I think he's awesome enough for my little brother!"

Lovino bristled at this and moved to step forward, unintentionally stepping on Matthew's tail in the process. The other cat shrieked as he quickly stood up and ran to the front of the cage away from Lovino, who followed close behind trying to calm the other down. The ruckus woke the sleeping Feliciano who noticed the people and ran towards his brother. This resulted in the two crashing together while Matthew finally calmed down and sat in a corner.

It was silent as the cats tried to rationalize what had just happened, but their attention was stolen by the laughter of the two people in front of them. The Spaniard was laughing loudly and the German was bent over holding his stomach.

"Toni! Taking only one would be so boring, why don't we take all three?" 'Toni' looked at his companion in disbelief.

"Three cats? Surely Ludwig won't be able to tolerate three?" The German looked at Toni like he was an idiot.

"Of course not! He's not awesome enough to care for that many cats. I was thinking that each of us would take one too. West can have the one that was sleeping, and I have deemed the fluffy one awesome enough for me. Why don't you take the other one?" Lovino felt his fur stiffen as they talked as if they were items.

"I would feel bad leaving him alone here, Gilbert. I suppose I could take him in!" He opened the cage and picked up Lovino. He cradled him in his arms before poking his nose with his finger. "Hello there. I'm Antonio and I guess you're my little kitty now!"

Lovino was going to struggle until he heard Matthew below him. "Please don't panic Lovino. If these two are close, then the home Feliciano is going to is also probably nearby. We will most likely be able to see each other regularly if we go with these people."

He thought for a second, but complied and allowed himself to be held and nuzzled. Matthew had a point. This was a rare opportunity that they had been given. Having owners that were clearly friends and being able to see one another was definitely better than being sent to some unknown home.

Gilbert called over the female employee who had been watching them closely. She smiled when they told her that they wanted to adopt the three cats. She ran into the back while Gilbert crouched down to see his new cat. "Ne, Toni? What are you going to name yours?"

"Hmm? A name? Uh…I don't really know. Maybe Gato?" Gilbert looked at him as if he were an idiot.

"You're going to name your cat 'cat'? That's so not awesome." Antonio pouted then thought for another two seconds. "Okay, how about Tomate? He can be my little tomato!"

"It's better than Gato. What if I named mine Birdy?" It was Antonio's turn to look at the other like an idiot.

"And you said my names were bad. Why would you name a cat after a bird? Aren't they supposed to be enemies or something?" Antonio rubbed Lovino's ears, earning a reluctant purr from the cat. Gilbert reached towards Matthew, who backed away slightly.

"He seems sort of flighty though. Besides, I love birds! They're one of the most awesome animals in the whole freaking kingdom!" The woman came back and handed some paperwork to the two. Antonio shifted Lovino so that the cat was sitting on his shoulder and was amazed when he actually stayed there. The paperwork wasn't too bad, but it took about half an hour to finish up everything.

While they were filling out the papers, the woman took the opportunity to put Matthew and Feliciano into crates. She tried to do the same for Lovino, but the Hybrid hissed at her. Antonio rubbed his back and said that he was fine without a crate. Why the idiot trusted him as a cat, he had no clue, but it's not like he was going anywhere. Gilbert took the crates from the woman and once the papers were done they walked out of the pet store.

"How the heck is that cat staying on your shoulder!" Gilbert asked in disbelief and Antonio rubbed under Lovino's chin.

"I guess he just likes me!" He cringed when the cat bit his finger and quickly hid it from Gilbert, hoping he hadn't noticed. Thankfully he didn't and turned to walk in the opposite direction.

"Well, have fun with your little Gato! I'll see you tomorrow at the normal spot." Antonio waved back, missing the insult, and walked in the opposite direction. Lovino looked back uneasily as he felt the distance between himself and his brother growing every second.

I actually don't like this chapter so much. I never know how to start a story well, but I can think of every other bit just fine. *sighes* I actually have met someone with a cat they named Kat. Yes, spelled with a 'K'. I just had to fit that in here.

Reviews are 3


	2. Chapter 2

Since it's a Saturday and my family isn't here yet for Mother's Day, I had all morning to write this. A quick update is a bit rare for myself! :3

And thank you all so much for all the reviews and alerts! I almost fell out of my seat when I opened my email. Totemo hayai desune~!

Again, I own nothing! DX

Antonio fumbled for his key in his pocket, doing his best not to upset the cat on his shoulder. Even he was amazed that the cat hadn't tried to run on the entire walk to his home. Instead, Tomate had sat quietly, but would hiss whenever someone tried to pet him. Antonio felt sorry for the little girl who had tried and nearly had her hand bitten by the cat. He couldn't really come up with any word to describe the strange behavior his new cat was exhibiting.

As soon as he managed to open the door, the cat jumped down and began walking around his small apartment. He felt sad as he realized that his source of warmth was gone. Antonio had been lucky that his landlord allowed pets; it would have been really awkward otherwise. Elizaveta could be scary at times, but even she had cooed when she saw Tomate.

A meow dragged him out of his thoughts and he saw that Tomate was looking at him. The cat had found a comfortable spot on one of the chairs that sat in his living room. He laughed and walked over to pat the other on the head.

"Sorry that the place is so small. I'm only a waiter, so this is the best I can do." The cat gave him a strange look, almost akin to pity, before jumping back up onto his shoulder. Antonio struggled to keep his balance but then proceeded to rub the cat's chin.

"One bedroom, one bathroom, and a living room and kitchen combined as one. Small, but its home, ya know? I hope you come to think of it that way too!" Antonio walked a few five steps so that he was in front of the stove. He reached into a small basket and pulled out a tomato. He felt the cat stand up instantly as he picked up the red fruit.

"Do you want one, mi peludo amigo?" The cat jumped onto the counter and rubbed against the basket. Antonio pulled out a knife and cut a small piece of his own tomato before handing it to the cat. Tomate instantly began licking at the food, eventually biting into it.

"Aw! You're so cute~! You even look like a tomato now!" Tomate looked at him for a second before licking the juice off of his whiskers. His tail moved back and forth, unintentionally knocking over a picture that was behind him.

"Oh, be careful silly!" Antonio reached for the picture and set it back up how it had been before. A frown immediately set itself across his face as he realized what picture it was. The cat looked at him curiously, probably noting the swift change of attitude. He had forgotten how perceptive cats could be.

"It's just an old photo, don't worry. It's from when I was in high school, with my two best friends. You met Gilbert earlier, remember? The 'awesome' German from earlier? The blonde is…that's Francis." Tomate stared at him as if he understood everything he was saying. Maybe that was just his imagination. A cat couldn't possibly understand a human, could it?

Even as he started to think he was crazy, he could have sworn that the cat had an expression that was asking, "What happened? Why are you so sad?" Antonio wiped the tears that had started appearing in his eyes, threatening to fall. Tomate had abandoned his tomato by now and was looking at the Spaniard with something like concern. Antonio felt comforted and rubbed the cat's head.

"It's nothing for you to worry about, really. Come on, I need to set up a litter box for you. Can't have you going wherever you want!" Antonio walked into his bedroom looking for an old box. He realized that Tomate hadn't followed him, but he needed to do something, anything, to keep the haunting memories out of his head.

"Welcome to your new home Birdy! And your temporary one…man, I don't know what to call you…" The cats turned to look at him, before running off to explore the house. His grandfather had been a wealthy man, and had left his savings to his two grandsons. Neither wasted the money, and Gilbert lived in a moderately sized house.

"Birdy, is something wrong?" He looked at his cat who had settled down quite quickly on a blanket that had been placed on the floor, he couldn't remember when, but a long time ago. The cat looked outright depressed.

"Birdy? Oi, what's the matter?" Gilbert sighed as the cat didn't respond to his coaxing. "Come on, the awesome me doesn't know what to do if you don't do anything!"

Wait a minute; was he trying to talk to a cat? Gilbert hit himself to make sure he was still right in the mind. He was trying to talk to a cat after all. He finally decided that it was best to get the other cat prepared for his brother, and to find out what was wrong with his Birdy later. That left one thing to be figured out. Where had the other one run off to?

He walked around looking, he couldn't call out anything for a cat without a name, and he would've felt like an idiot yelling out "cat!" Without any luck in his kitchen or any other room downstairs, he climbed up the stairs to the second floor. He searched through his bedroom and his unused study, before making it to the guest bedroom. He found a little more than he had bargained for.

"West! What are you doing here?" He spotted his blonde brother sitting on the bed with a tired expression. He had probably been taking a nap when it had been interrupted by the now purring cat on his lap.

"You told me to come today, bruder. Since when did you get a cat?" Had he asked his little brother to come? Oh yeah! Today was his brother's birthday after all, so he had asked him to come over. The awesomeness that was himself had wished to give him his present, but it seemed like said present had found him before he could.

"Since today. My cat is downstairs though, and this one is your birthday present!" Gilbert said and ran downstairs quickly before his brother could say any objections.

"Wait, what!" He brother caught up to him quickly with the cat still in his arms. "You got me a cat? Why would you do that, I already have two dogs!"

"It's something new, ya know? Besides I think you could use a nice and quiet friend now that Kiku left for Japan." A good friend of his brother had recently returned to his home after spending 8 years here. Kiku had been a really quiet and nice boy who had helped West keep his sanity during the crazy college years.

"Do I have to? Can't you take him back?" Gilbert looked at him with a hurt expression.

"Ludwig! Are you saying my awesome gift isn't good enough? Besides, if I took him back, he'd be all alone. I adopted one of the cats that was there and Toni has that one's brother. It would be cruel to throw him back into that shop."

Ludwig looked down at the cat that was purring happily in his arms before giving up and rubbing its fluffy belly. The cat playfully tried to nip at his hand, causing a small, almost unnoticeable, smile to appear on his face. Gilbert had long learned how to pick up on such things and walked over to his own cat, picking him up and bringing him over.

"This is my awesome cat, Birdy! I'm trying to figure out why he's sad right now though, so that I can make him as happy as he can be!" Ludwig looked at the fluffy cat in his older brother's hands before looking at his own fluffball.

"What should I even name him?" Gilbert grinned, knowing that he had won.

"The lady at the shop said it was an Italian breed. Toni named his Tomate, because you know how much that idiot loves the things. So maybe something Italian?" Ludwig tried to think of something, but was coming up with nothing.

"What about Ita? Short for Italy, I really have nothing else." Gilbert gave him a pat on the head, hard for him since he was shorter than his little brother.

"It's a good name! Not as awesome as my Birdy, but awesome enough! So are you going to stay for dinner?" Ludwig nodded and set Ita down. "As long as I get to make sure you don't poison us both."

"Hey! My awesome cooking skills don't include anything poisonous!" Ludwig followed after his brother as the albino walked enthusiastically into the kitchen. The blonde stopped at the door and looked at his brother with a concerned expression.

"How are you doing bruder?" Gilbert froze in his task of taking out some potatoes, and set them down slowly. The cats noticed this strange behavior and Birdy walked up to sit beside his new owner.

"I'm fine. I don't know if I can say the same for Antonio though. Arthur won't even talk to us anymore, although I think those two would get into a fight if we saw him." Gilbert pulled out a knife to prepare the potatoes but Ludwig took it out of his hand.

"I'll cook tonight. I don't think you've mourned properly yet, and you two really should talk to Arthur again. He's alone through all of this, but at least you and Antonio have each other to talk to." Gilbert nodded slowly and allowed Ludwig to begin making the dinner.

"He's probably fine. Antonio would bite my head off if I even tried to do set up anything. Besides, nothing we could ever do could change what happened. He's gone, and that's something that can never be changed."

Another chapter done. By the way, I don't know Spanish so anything Spanish is from an online translator. Sorry, if I mess anything up. Latin and Japanese only get me so far... By the way, there isn't really any central character that this story revolves around. It will jump around and may seem a bit abrupt, but I hope it's not too difficult to follow.


	3. Chapter 3

This will probably be my next quick update for a bit since tomorrow is Monday and school reappears into my life! Only four more weeks! XD But then I'm have a convention to attend and three weeks in Italy...won't be updating much during that. Back to happier thoughts! Here's another chapter for you all to read.

And thank you all who reviewed and to all those ninja readers who alerted and favorited this~!

I. OWN. NOTHING. :(

Antonio's attention was stolen from his cooking by the cell phone ringing in his pocket. He struggled to get to it without having to burn his food. He set the frying pan down gently and quickly fished out the small metallic object before noticing that it was Gilbert. He flipped the phone open and rested it in between his head and his shoulder. Tomate had made his way onto the floor behind him while he had been trying to make this all work.

"Hola!" He readjusted the phone's position, but nearly dropped it when the other voice yelled in his ear.

"What took you so long to answer your phone! It's not nice to keep the awesomeness that is me waiting!" Antonio laughed and picked up his pan.

"I was cooking. It took me a second to get my phone out, that's all~! So, whatcha need?" Tomate had jumped up to look into the pan, and Antonio struggled to shoo the cat away while juggling his other tasks.

"I was thinking that we could meet up tomorrow at the park, West too. That way we can hang out while the cats get to see each other as well!" Antonio almost dropped the phone again, finally managing to get Tomate off the counter.

"I don't see why not! How do you know the cats won't run off though? I don't think my little Tomate would, but what about Birdy and …?" He struggled to come up with a name for the other cat.

"Ita. Ludwig named him when I gave him the cat a week ago. I haven't heard anything from him since, so I assume it's going well." On the other end, Gilbert was lazily stretched out on his couch. To be honest, he was still worried.

He had tried everything he could to get Birdy to react to, well, anything. The cat was proving difficult and was currently curled up into a fluffy ball on the other end of his couch. He wondered if it was because he was lonely, but he had no intentions on getting another cat anytime soon. So why not get him together with the other two cats to see if his condition improved? It seemed like a logical idea, but he had to make sure the cats didn't run off somewhere.

"I really don't think they will. Birdy barely walks, let alone runs, anywhere. Tomate was perched on your shoulder the entire walk to your apartment. If he lasted that long, then there's no way he'll run off. Even Ita doesn't seem like he'll run off anytime soon. If you really want to, bring a leash, but that so wouldn't be awesome."

Antonio laughed on his end. "Don't worry, I trust my cat! I just hope Birdy gets better soon."

"Yeah so do I," Gilbert began playing with a small cat toy he had picked up the other day. He really didn't want to ask this, but Ludwig had made him promise. "Hey, Toni."

"Hmm?" Something felt off to Antonio, it wasn't like Gilbert to be this serious.

"Why don't we invite Arthur to come along?" Antonio's mood immediately darkened and his cat could feel it radiating in the small room.

"Why would we ask that bastard to come? He never liked us anyways." He set down the food, knowing he might throw it across the room if his temper simmered. It was nearly done anyway and just needed to cool at this point before he added the final spices.

"Why am I not surprised you reacted so unawesomely? Ludwig was the one who suggested it just so you know. Don't take out your hatred on me." Gilbert knew this was a touchy subject. Antonio and Arthur had never, and that meant never, gotten along. They always started bickering and fighting if they were even in the same vicinity of the other. He couldn't help wondering how someone could hate another instantly, but clearly it was possible.

"You know I hate him, yet you still asked? If I ever see him…" Now Antonio was glad that he had set down the food, otherwise it would be in the other half of the room by now. He even did his best to distance himself from Tomate, he would feel bad if he took it out on a cat.

"I promised West, sorry for asking. Well…I guess I'll see you tomorrow then!" Gilbert hung up quickly before Antonio could squeeze in anything else. It made sense, who would want to talk to someone who was ready to bite another's head off?

Antonio set down the phone and set his hand over his food to see if it had cooled enough. Deeming it fine, he pulled out some spices and started sprinkling them over his concoction. Tomate had found his way back onto the counter at some point and was staring at the food in anticipation. Antonio had learned that he just couldn't say no to hid adorable charge. So while he prepared a dish for himself, he also prepared another for the cat.

But now he had a black cloud above his head. If Tomate had noticed, he didn't seem to really care, as he continued to eat his own serving. Somehow, the cat's apathetic demeanor lightened his mood. He rubbed Tomate's head and laughed to himself, earning a twitch of the whiskers from the cat.

"Nee Tomate? Do you have anyone that you just can't stand?" Tomate's ears twitched and Antonio decided to take that as an answer. In his mind, the answer was a yes.

"That so? Well then we have something in common~!" Antonio picked up the cat and hugged him to his chest. The cat struggled, clearly wanting to get back to his food, but eventually stopped when he realized his owner wasn't letting go.

Antonio walked into the living room, managing to carry both plates and Tomate with him, and found a comfortable spot on the couch. Tomate immediately jumped back to his plate and Antonio watched the feline with amusement. Then his little black cloud decided it was a prompt time to return to pester him more.

What would he do if Gilbert or Ludwig decided to invite Arthur anyway? He didn't know how he would react and he feared that his reaction would be for the worse. In all honesty, he didn't want to hurt the annoying blonde. He just didn't feel like dealing with the other individual after all that had happened. Wasn't he still in England anyway? The chance that he would even agree to come was low as well. Hopefully, all went well though.

Lovino looked at his owner from where he was eating his share of dinner. He hadn't been acting like it, but he had been paying attention this past week. It was easy to tell that something was bothering his temporary owner. He did know that it was something to do with a friend of his named Francis. He didn't know what had happened, but it clearly wasn't something good.

Now today he had been talking on the phone and had gotten really made about something. He assumed it was Gilbert on the other end from how the conversion had been going. Then Antonio had gone and gotten uncharacteristically mad, that was how he acted not the Spaniard. Then he had gone and asked him if he had someone he just couldn't stand. In truth, he really didn't. His brother got on his nerves sometimes, but he was still his brother at the end of the day.

Now Antonio had fallen asleep and Lovino was up sitting on the bed. The worried and angry expression that had remained on the other's face after the call had disappeared during sleep, and Lovino found himself relieved. He didn't know why the tomato bastard acting weird had made him feel so strange, but it just did.

He curled up next to the Spaniard and decided that he might as well try to get some sleep. He remembered back to the phone call and something about a get together. He would probably be seeing Feliciano and Matthew tomorrow so he could see how they'd been doing. He wasn't worried about Feliciano, but he still had some concerns about Matthew.

He recalled Antonio saying that he hoped Birdy would be better soon. That meant that the cat was still depressed. He sighed to himself. There were too many damn people acting all depressed around him, and he had no idea what to do to help! There was nothing he could do at this hour though. Another sigh escaped his small frame, before he found himself drifting off to sleep.

Lalalalala~ We'll get to see everybody together next time, that means cats and people! But right now, I'm tired...nighty night peoplez~

Reviews are much appreciated ;3


	4. Chapter 4

So I got lucky and had a day with no homework, hallelujah! I also just finished the anime Bibliotheca de Dantalian and started Mirai Nikki, but I feel like watching these has made my writing more depressing. Not to mention I'm still writing my own version of Dante's Inferno for English. So much dark literature! :3 (I may actually post that on here since I'm using some familiar characters~)

And thank you so much for people who reviewed! Especially those double or even triple reviewers~ Many answers will come in the next few chapters after this.

Anywayz, enjoy reading ze chapter!

I own nothing :(

"Hola guys!" Antonio yelled out to two others as he ran up to them. Lovino struggled to keep his perch on the man's shoulder as he ran ahead. In front of them stood Gilbert and Ludwig, or at least he assumed that's who it was since he'd never met the bastard before. He quickly caught sight of his brother and Matthew as well, who were both sitting with their owners.

"What took you so long? It's not awesome to make people wait, you know!" Gilbert grumbled in mock hurt as Antonio finally made it to the table they were seated at.

"Well it's not like we're going anywhere right?" Ludwig gave a curt nod and set down Feliciano, who excitedly made his way over to Lovino when he jumped down. Antonio made a strange cooing noise as the two cats sat together.

"True. But it's still not cool to make someone wait for ya. So how has your week been with little Tomate?" Lovino chose this time to ignore what their owners were saying and turned to Matthew, who had jumped down from the table moments earlier.

"You two surviving with those potato bastards?" Lovino asked with a hardly concealed glare at the two men he meant.

"Everything's fine with me~! Ve~ Ludwig is so nice to me!" Feliciano smiled brightly like he always did. Lovino couldn't help slightly cringing knowing who had caused it.

"It's fine at my home too. Gilbert has been trying to cheer me up the past week, and I would be lying if I didn't admit that it was helping." Lovino turned to the fluffy white cat. He did seem a bit brighter than he had been in the pet store, but only slightly.

"It's been fine on my end as well. But do either of you know what the hell is going on? The tomato bastard switches from giddy to depressed in a split second." Feliciano looked confused at this and the three turned to see Antonio as happy as he usually was. Only Lovino was aware of the darker side of things.

"Gilbert had similar mood swings a few times, but not often. I think they lost someone who was dear to them, if I recall from what I've heard. I haven't caught a name though." Matthew thought back to his first night with Gilbert and the conversation he had had with Ludwig. Something had been off, but he hadn't been sure what.

"Ve~ Can't we talk about something else? This is getting depressing!" Both of the cats turned to Feliciano who smiled at them. "Why don't we run around for a bit? You two look so stressed! You just need some pasta and some fresh air. Ve~ I want pasta…"

Before either could respond, Feliciano was already running through a bush. It continued rustling and the tabby poked his head back out when he found that neither had followed him. Lovino and Matthew looked at him for a second before Lovino sighed. "I guess I have been getting a bit worked up about all this damn crap."

"As have I. It's just hard after everything that's happened, eh?" Feliciano's smile grew as he motioned for the other two to follow him.

"I can smell something really good coming from over here! Maybe it's pasta!" With that the other cat was off again. After sniffing the air Lovino realized that there was an alluring aroma coming from somewhere nearby. It wouldn't hurt to take a look, would it?

Following quickly behind, the three cats made their way through some bushes before they finally discovered the source of the scent. A small stand was selling pastries and Feliciano could see a cannoli sitting with others on a tray. Lovino could see a few pignolata that he remembered having when he was younger. He was tempted to change back into his human form just to get one, but he knew he had no money anyway. The two cats had been about to walk up when they realized how stiff Matthew had become beside them.

"Ve~ What's wrong Matthew?" Feliciano walked over to see what was wrong. Although Lovino could see he was panicking as tears were starting to form in his eyes. Matthew just continued to stare not at the stand, but at the man standing in front of it.

A short man with messy blonde hair and green eyes that were below large eyebrows. He was currently asking the woman at the stand for something, but he seemed out of place in the park. He was wearing a sweater vest over a neat white shirt and a pair of expensive-looking dark pants. The brothers tried to get Matthew to respond to anything they were saying when he finally murmured something that was inaudible to their ears.

"What? Matthew you have to be louder." Lovino said and the cat finally spoke loud enough for the others to hear.

"That's him." The brothers turned to look at the man again. "That's the man who adopted my brother."

Everything clicked in Lovino's mind, even Feliciano looked at the man with a concerned expression. Matthew had an urge to run up and would have even changed so he could communicate with the blonde, but he knew he had to be careful. If he scared him away, then he may never be able to meet up with his brother again.

"I want to get closer, but it's too risky." After voicing his thoughts, Lovino glared at the man, who looked like he was about to leave.

"We don't have a damn choice. He'll leave if we do nothing; we just have to risk it." Matthew didn't need another signal as he immediately made his way towards the man. Lovino and Feliciano followed a bit more slowly.

Matthew meowed and it was actually loud enough to get the man's attention. He looked down at Matthew and crouched down with a smile. Matthew tried not to flinch as the man softly pet his head, but eventually began purring into the touch. He had to earn the other's trust, whether he really wanted to or not. By now the other two cats were close enough that the man noticed them as well.

"Hello there. I don't think I've seen you three little ones around here before. Are you lost? You're too clean to be strays..." Matthew noted the thick British accent that came with the man's words. It was then that the man seemed to pause and look more closely at Matthew.

"Wait. Have I seen you bef-"

"BIRDY!" A shout from nearby caused all four individuals to stiffen, each having their own reasons. It only took a second for Gilbert to appear before he spotted the cats. He was about to run to his cat when he noticed who it was they were by. He looked like he was about to speak when two more people appeared behind him, each taking in the situation.

"Arthur…" Antonio hissed with malice clear in his voice. Lovino immediately backed away from the man who he knew his owner hated. But he had a hard time believing that this was the person Antonio hated.

"Hello old chap. Are these three your cats?" He motioned to the felines at his feet before he simply crossed his arms and glared at the Spaniard.

During this exchange, Ludwig had crouched down and motioned for Feliciano to come over to him. The cat did so, looking hesitantly at his brother who nodded in permission. Lovino was planning to go back to Antonio, but Matthew needed his support at the moment, and he was willing to give it. As the humans continued to stare each other down, Arthur finally gave in with a sigh.

"I'm not in the mood for this right now. Perhaps we can settle this later." The Brit turned around, but Matthew panicked. He latched onto the other's leg, forgetting that he had a sharp set of claws at the end of his paws.

Arthur gave a small squeak of pain before trying to shake the cat off of his leg. Gilbert ran over quickly and after some struggle, he managed to pry his cat off. The Brit spit out some profanities at both the cat and its owner before trying to stomp off. He was stopped by a strong grip around his wrist. Antonio had used the chaos as a veil to approach the other. Two pairs of green eyes were staring at each other viciously before Antonio finally spoke.

"Why?" He hid his eyes under his brown bangs, but it seemed that Arthur already knew what he was going to ask as he turned away from him. "Why what?"

"Why didn't you show up at his funeral! He was your cousin, por amor de dios!" Antonio was glaring once again, but there was a mix of hurt and anger in his eyes.

"You don't think I wanted to you bloody git! I didn't even hear about it until after the damn funeral!" Arthur wrenched his hand out of the others grip and stormed off. Antonio watched as the other disappeared and didn't turn away until Lovino rubbed against his ankles.

"Ah, Tomate. Sorry you had to see that mi gatita." He crouched down and Lovino took the opportunity to jump onto the other's shoulder like he normally did. The Spaniard turned back to the two Germans who were watching him closely.

"That's why you're mad at him huh? You could've told us." Gilbert said with a sad grin.

"It's nothing really. I'll deal with it later. Weren't we supposed to be having an outing? This is supposed to cheer us up, so let's head back and find a nice spot, si?" Ludwig offered a small smile and Gilbert's characteristic grin returned to his face.

"Well then let's go! I know the most amazing spot, perfect for someone as awesome as I am!"

I admit this isn't my favorite chapter just because it moves at a pretty quick pace. And if you haven't guessed by now, yes Francis died in this fic. I spent quite a while deciding whether I should actually do it or not. It's not because I dislike him or anything like that, but I needed an event to link everyone together and help with both story and character development. I'm sorry to all those Francis fans out there :(

I also feel like I made Mattie really polite in this. Just in the way he talks. It's just that all the Canadian people I have met (my dad works in Canada, so we visit) are really SUPER POLITE. Quite different than most people around me in the States. XD


	5. Chapter 5

**How was everybody's day today? Mine was nice, at least I didn't come close to dozing off like I did yesterday~! By the way, it's not like I usually update this quickly, but recently I've had long periods of time where I had nothing to do. So while I was dying of boredom, I decided to write during these times. I guess that's good news for you all!**

**Also, about my comment that I find all Canadians polite. I don't know if that's entirely true, I'm sure there's a rude Canadian out there somewhere. It's just that all the ones I've ever met are really nice and quite funny! (My Latin teacher is Canadian and because of him, I will always know how to say sexy frogs in Latin~ XD)**

**I own nothing~~~**

"That bloody git can go die in hell for all I care!" Arthur stomped, or tried to, towards his apartment after having an encounter he'd rather not have. Just his luck, the first day he goes out to relax, he runs into his cousin's friends! He stopped walking as he remembered that they were his cousin's friends, not even his acquaintances, but his cousin's friends.

His cousin was Francis Bonnefoy, and he had died about two months ago in a car accident. At the time, he had been in England with work, and he hadn't even heard about the accident until a week after the funeral had been held. And that stupid Spaniard had the nerve to accuse him of things before he knew all of the details! He felt his anger boiling up once more and began walking once more.

His current apartment wasn't far from the park anyway, so it only took a few minutes to walk there. The building was nine stories tall and his room was on the eighth. He groaned to himself as he remembered that the elevators were not currently running. About to enter the building he noticed something that unnerved him.

There had been a man standing outside of his building for the past week now. The guy didn't look threatening, tall with dark brown hair and a doctor's coat. Arthur guessed that he was from the nearby medical center, but he didn't know why he continued to stand in the same spot every day. The man had come up to talk to him on one of the first days he was there. He had asked the most peculiar questions about whether he knew what a Hybrid was. He had simply blown the guy off and labeled him in his mind as crazy at the time.

Choosing to ignore the man, he continued into his apartment and glared at the doorway to the stairwell before sighing in defeat. No one should ever have to climb eight flights of stairs just to get to their room. After a grueling climb for him, it's not like he was out of shape, he just didn't exercise much, Arthur finally made it to the eighth floor.

As he finally opened the door to his room, he walked into his kitchen and pulled out the first aid kit. He made his way to the couch and pulled out some disinfectant. It was then that he felt another weight jump up onto the couch.

"Oh, Hero. What have you been up to love?" To be honest, he would have preferred a different name, but Hero had been what was on the collar. Then again, he didn't really like calling him Hero when he knew his actual name. "Rather, Alfred, what have you been getting into today?"

The cat began to glow before the light morphed into the form of a human. Said human had dirty blonde hair and a strange cowlick that just wouldn't stay down. He was also wearing a bomber's jacket that Arthur guessed was from sometime around World War II.

"Geez Iggy, you're not as nice anymore!" The other whined as Arthur glared at him.

"You're the freeloader if I recall correctly. You're also the idiot who stepped in a puddle of water on his third day here." Alfred pouted but then caught sight of his ankle.

"Dude, what happened?" Arthur found himself blushing as the other got closer to inspect the long scratch marks on his ankles. Alfred poked at one but backed away quickly as the Brit winced.

"I ran into some annoying people today. One of their cats scratched my legs." Alfred looked irritated and walked to the window, but made sure that he couldn't be seen by anyone outside. "I'll get those cats for you." Arthur knew the Hybrid would be bristling if he were still a cat.

"You do that." Alfred grinned at him. "Of course I will! I'm the hero after all!"

Arthur finished applying the bandages and tested whether he could walk around while the scratches still stung from the disinfectant. He immediately sat back down as he felt a jolt go up his body when he stood. Alfred laughed quietly while watching this.

He had gotten lucky that Arthur didn't freak out when he found out what he was. He had to admit, he had been a bit stupid to not even notice the small puddle of water before he walked into it. The rumor that cats hate water was actually something originally spread by Hybrids. Most cats are perfectly fine with a bit of water, though not many like being drenched. The true reality was that if a Hybrid got wet, they would turn into their human form. It was out of their control whenever this happened.

He looked out the window a bit stealthily and watched the people walking by. He saw a woman rushing by on her cell phone, a man walking with a young boy, probably his son, and he finally caught sight of the man he had been hoping not to see.

"So he's here again?" Alfred murmured, but loud enough for Arthur to hear.

"The guy asking about Hybrids? Yeah, the git is still there." Arthur had thought that the man was crazy at the time, but that was before he had found out about Alfred. His suspicion had been growing as the man returned every day. Did he know that Alfred was here, and if so what was he planning?

"It's really unnerving when you know that some bastard is chasing you. I hope Mattie is okay." Arthur glanced at him once more before he sighed, gaining the Hybrid's attention.

"I don't get you at all." Alfred walked over and leaned over the back of the couch, turning to stare at the Brit. "What don'cha get?"

"You start worrying about your brother randomly, yet you said you wanted to stay with me since I'm your owner." Alfred looked confused, and Arthur felt anger boil inside of him. "I'm going back to bloody England in a month, so what if you don't find your brother by then!"

"I would still go with ya." The quick response shocked Arthur into silence. "I mean…Mattie can take care of himself, but it'd be nice to run into him before then. That way he won't be worryin' 'bout me the entire time."

Arthur felt something pang inside of him as Alfred talked about his brother, he wasn't sure what it was though and ignored it. Another strange feeling was also present when he thought about the fact that Alfred would come along with him regardless of whether they found Matthew or not. He did wish to find the cat for Alfred's sake though. He had been dragged around town by the American a couple of days after the incident with the puddle. They hadn't found anything and he hadn't been at the pet store either. The lady said that the cats had just been adopted earlier that same day, but wouldn't tell them anything else.

It was then that a realization came to him. He thought back to the cats that had been in the park and suddenly recalled where he had seen the one that scratched him before.

"Alfred! I think I might know who had Matthew." Alfred's head shot up and a wide smile came to his face.

"Really? Who! I hope they're being nice to him!" The other was practically jumping with excitement as Arthur motioned for him to calm down.

"I'm not entirely sure, but I think he was one of the cats I saw in the park. The one that scratched me…" Alfred wasn't sure how he felt at hearing this. He felt angry for some reason, but he couldn't possibly be angry at Mattie could he? "I believe that he's staying with…"

Alfred grew curious as Arthur stopped and seemed to think through what he was about to say. "Who, Iggy? Who is he staying with?"

"Stop calling me that you git! He's staying…he's staying with Gilbert." Arthur looked at the floor and Alfred understood.

He had heard Arthur rant about someone named Gilbert and another named Antonio many times before. What a weird coincidence that one of them would happen to have Mattie with them. However, because of those same rants he knew exactly how well Arthur and the others got along. It would be awkward for them to just stop by, even if Matthew had revealed himself by now. This would be difficult, but at least they had a possible lead.

"I want to try to approach them, at least to warn them about that weirdo that's been hanging around lately." Alfred turned to the window again. Arthur looked at him before nodding reluctantly. "I suppose we could at least clarify if it is true or not…"

Alfred smiled and wrapped his arms around Arthur's shoulders from behind to give him a crushing hug. The Brit struggled with a flustered expression and Alfred laughed. "Thank you so much Arthur!"

The Brit in his arms stopped moving and the other eventually let go to walk into another room. Arthur watched him go before burrowing his face into a pillow. What the hell was wrong with him!

**First chapter with Alfred and Arthur :3 And yes, Alfred was stupid enough to walk into a puddle of water. -.-; Alfred also isn't as idiotic as he is normally, otherwise I would get nowhere with this! So yeah...I dare you all to guess who the next person to be revealed will be~! (I'm still kind of debating, so we'll see what happens)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Konbanwa~ (It's 10:10 p.m. here) I've had a bit of writer's block not to mention a busy weekend, but I managed to finish this for you all! Time to see which cat is revealed next! Also, stressed out by all the tests this week so don't know how much updating will occur. :3**

**Last chapter I'm going to say this. I. OWN. NOTHING.**

Ludwig sat on his chair with his head propped up by his hand. He was currently debating a pressing matter in his head as he watched the dilemma unfold before him. It was such a hard decision though. Should he untangle the cat or not?

Ita had managed to get himself wrapped up with a string of yarn that had originally been a ball. His Golden Retriever, one of his few dogs, had come over to investigate a moment before. However, the cat had been so scared that he only got tangled further and his dog left. This was the current situation that he was faced with at the moment.

Ludwig stood from his chair and moved over to try to untangle his cat, and he was surprised when the cat grew still to allow him to do so. That was until he realized the cat had fallen asleep. How had he gotten stuck with such a strange cat? He wasn't sure if Ita was mischievous or just stupid at times.

He ran his hands through the soft fur and realized that it had gotten rather dirty after their outing to the park. Could a cat have a bath? Ludwig wasn't sure, but he did know that cats weren't supposed to like water. They clean themselves, but his was a considerable amount as it had rained a few days before they went to the park, meaning most of the dirt was mud at the time. As he had this silent and frustrating debate, he managed to untangle the cat.

Ita opened his brown eyes and looked at his master before meowing. Ludwig had made up his mind by now and picked the cat up, cradling him as he headed for the bathroom. This couldn't be too hard could it? He soon regretted his decision.

"St-Stop it! You crazy c-cat!" All he had done was turn on the water and Ita had started freaking out in his arms. He currently was struggling to hold the cat while claws were embedded into his shirt. He had misjudged a cat's fear of water, but he needed to get Ita clean!

He finally managed to get the cat to let go and tossed him into water that reached just below the cat's head. Ludwig turned for a second to grab some soap but was surprised by the strange glow that came from behind him. He turned quickly and dropped the soap he had just picked up. His cat was no longer in his tub, but a young man now in drenched clothing.

"Who the hell are you! Where's Ita!" The man in front of him held up his hands in a panic and tears were starting to form in the corners of his eyes.

"P-Please don't h-hurt me Ludwig! It's me, I-I swear!" Ludwig looked at the man curiously.

"How do you know my name!" The other moved a bit closer but still looked like he was about to cry at any second.

"I've been living here for about-a two weeks now. I think, I don't keep good track of time when I'm a cat." Ludwig's glare didn't disappear and he spoke quicker, "I'm Feliciano, but you've been calling me Ita for a while now!"

"You expect me to believe that you're my cat? How stupid do you think I am!" Feliciano was crying by now and Ludwig didn't know how to react. He had to admit that the man and his cat did share some characteristics. They had the same brown eyes and Feliciano's auburn hair matched Ita's fur. The most compelling evidence was the curl that he had found strange on Ita. It was still present on Feliciano's head, sticking out like it always had on Ita.

"Please believe me Ludwig! This is why we're not supposed to get wet. Fratello will be so mad!" Ludwig watched uncertainly as Feliciano began to panic further and cry more. He could tell that this man, Feliciano, was no threat. Then how did he get in here? There were no windows, but could he really be his cat?

Ludwig tossed a towel on top of the other's head and the Italian looked up at him fearfully. The German looked away before pinching the bridge of his nose. "Dry off first. Then you will explain everything to me."

Feliciano nodded eagerly and stepped out of the tub. Ludwig realized that he would need dry clothes, so he walked into his room quickly and picked up one of his shirts. He was going to find some pants but a voice from his door stopped him.

"Y-You don't need to bother with that." Feliciano was in the doorway with the towel over his head and nothing but his boxers on. Ludwig threw the shirt at him and turned away.

"Put that on now." Feliciano nodded and did so. Ludwig turned back around when he felt that it was safe to, safe from what he wasn't sure, and noticed that the shirt reached down to the other's knees.

Deeming that pants weren't really necessary at the moment, Ludwig led the way downstairs where he sat on one chair, while Feliciano sat in the one across from him. One look from the German was all Feliciano needed to know that he should start explaining, and soon.

"W-Well I'm a Hybrid. So I am both a human and a cat." Ludwig could already tell that this was going to sound crazy, but the other didn't appear to be lying. "Both my brother and I are Hybrids. We change without any control if we come in contact with water while we're cats. Ve~ Well that's the most of it!"

"A Hybrid? So that means Antonio has a Hybrid as well. I wonder if he knows by now…" Ludwig was debating on telling him.

"Please don't tell anyone about this! Fratello would kill me if he knew you found out!" Feliciano begged.

"Fratello?" Feliciano smiled at the question.

"Ve! My big brother Lovino! He's staying with Antonio right now, so he's okay. But please don't tell anyone else, because this was supposed to be a secret!" Ludwig nodded, since he would've sounded crazy trying to explain this sort of thing to anyone anyway.

"I won't tell. However…this is going to be quite strange for me now that I know my cat is a person." Feliciano smiled at him again, and Ludwig felt his face heat up.

"I could stay as a cat if you want me to." Ludwig shook his head.

"No, it would be even stranger since I know that you understand everything I'm saying. I might as well pass you off as my roommate for now." Feliciano nodded eagerly and then tilted his head.

"So can I still sleep with Ludwig?" Ludwig's face became a vivid red and he quickly shook his head. "Of course not! You can stay in the guest bedroom!" Ludwig ignored the sad face that Feliciano gave him. There was no way he was letting another man sleep in the same bed as him…even if he technically had before.

"Ve~ Oh, I forgot to tell you that Birdie is a Hybrid too! His real name is Matthew, and he's looking for his brother. But we have a lead as to who the owner is!" Feliciano grinned and Ludwig waited for him to go on. "That British man we ran into the other day!"

Ludwig's mood immediately soured again. "So could you ask him if he has a cat next time?"

"Feliciano, that man isn't exactly a friend of ours." Feliciano looked disappointed.

"Really? Why not though? You guys seemed to know each other, although Antonio did get really angry…" Ludwig nodded.

"Exactly. There used to be someone who managed to make them get along, Arthur's cousin Francis. He was good friends with my brother and Antonio. Since he died though, they haven't gotten along in the slightest, won't even look at each other. If he does have the cat you're looking for, it will be difficult." Feliciano looked at the floor sadly, but was smiling again in a few seconds.

"We can still try though can't we?" Ludwig wasn't used to such optimism, but felt like this kind would only bring good things.

"Yes, I suppose we probably can." Feliciano beamed and stood from his chair, quickly running over to hug Ludwig. Ludwig struggled under the hug and eventually the Italian let go. He smiled down at him.

"Thank you Ludwig." With that said, Feliciano ran upstairs, leaving Ludwig to think about what had just happened in the span of an hour.

**It wasn't Feliciano's fault that he got wet! Still trying to devise methods for the other two to get soaked. May need to test out some water guns on my cat. Mwahaha! I'm kidding, I would never do that to my Football! (Yes, my cat is named Football. He's not brown, but he is as fat as a football. My brother named him when he was in kindergarten so...yeah. :3)**

**Reviews are much appreciated, especially now that I'm reaching my normal decrease of interest phase. :( I will do my best to continue this and ignore the other story that has developed in my head for later!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I update once more! I've had quite the week, if you don't mind my ranting this is what happened. Three hour class periods. Studying for Latin test that got postponed. Japanese interim test. Japanese project. Anatomy test. Teacher never told us it included the respiratory system. Anatomy project. Impossible-to-get-in-touch-with partner. Chemistry SOL (SOLs aren't hard, more tedious). World Religions test in Christianity. Trig test in conics. Notes, notes, notes, notes, notes. Global studies 10 SOL (again not hard, but tedious). Global paper. English Inferno paper. Trying to hide the fact I'm using Hetalia charcters. (Supposed to be our own, but I'm too lazy). Addicting new game. Yeah...**

**Story time!**

"Tomate, tomate! Food's ready!" Antonio called from the kitchen to the cat he knew was lying on top of his bed. He always was. Lovino made his way groggily into the kitchen. Why did food always come in the middle of his siesta?

Antonio set the food on the ground, Lovino was so thankful that his owner didn't buy him cat food and preferred to make him a tomato rich diet. Lovino was so focused on his meal that he failed to notice the knocking on the door that stole his owner's attention. He also failed to notice Antonio say "Coming~!" in his normal sing-song voice. He didn't hear the voice of Ludwig at the door as he introduced someone. What he did notice was a chipper voice that he shouldn't be hearing.

"Ve~! Ciao, I'm Feliciano! It's a pleasure to meet you Antonio!" Lovino forgot about his food and ran into the conjoining room. He couldn't stop himself from hissing when he saw his brother standing next to his owner. The idiot only smiled wide as he spotted Lovino.

"What a cute cat! Can I pet him?" At least Feliciano was smart enough not to reveal him to Antonio. Said Spaniard smiled brightly and nodded. "But be careful! If you're not careful he might bite you."

Feliciano walked over to him and crouched down. "Hi there kitty cat!"

"Are you stupid or what! Why the hell are you two here, and why are you a goddamn human!" Lovino yelled, although the other occupants of the room heard it as a growled meow. Feliciano could understand it though. The problem was that he reacted to it as if he was the only other person in the room.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean too!" Antonio looked over with a slightly confused expression, but Ludwig had probably been told that Tomate was a hybrid.

"Antonio, my brother mentioned that he might have left his bike here. Do you know if it's outside?" Ludwig got Antonio's attention and Lovino watched as he realized what he was doing.

"Gil has a bike?" Antonio asked incredulously.

"That was my reaction too. If it is here, I could take it back to his house on the way to mine. Could we go and check if it is? Feliciano can play with Tomate for a few minutes." Ludwig moved a hand behind his back so that Antonio wouldn't see, but the hybrids could. He drew a number 15 in the air that was a little hard to decipher, but manageable.

"Cierto! We should hurry though, if I know Gil then I know he didn't use a lock. Who knows if it's still there! There's been a lot of bikes missing recently you know?" The two owners walked out of the house and Feliciano turned back to Lovino. The cat closed his eyes and began to glow until he was sitting on the floor in a very human body.

"You're such an idiot! What happened to stay hidden!" Feliciano hugged him tightly and cried into his shirt.

"I'm sorry fratello! Ludwig tried to give me a bath and I got wet! Please forgive me!" Lovino tried to move out of the hug and finally managed to break free.

"Chill out, at least he didn't kick you out or reveal us. And who the hell tries to give a cat a bath! Potato bastard." Feliciano tilted his head, a tick that remained even as they were humans.

"Potato bastard? Are you talking about Ludwig?" Lovino just stared at him with his normal expression of frustration.

"Yeah, actually your owner and Matthew's. They're both potato bastards, and I have my own tomato bastard to deal with. So why are you idiots even here?" Lovino asked as he crossed his arms.

"Well, for one I wanted to see you fratello!"

"You better have a better reason." Feliciano frowned but nodded.

"Ludwig wanted me to ask you what our plan was. I mean, are we staying here for much longer? I know we said we'd help Matthew and all, so should we start looking for his brother or Arthur while you stay here with Antonio? Do you want to reveal everything to Antonio?"

"Nosy potato bastard. I don't know how long we'll be staying here right now. We did agree to help Matthew though, so you can start fucking looking if you want. Who's Arthur again?" Lovino asked.

"The British man we met in the park! Ludwig said he doesn't get along with Antonio and Gilbert too much, but Ludwig might be able to get a bit closer. Ve~ You never answered my last question!" Lovino looked to the door where their owners had left through and sighed.

"If we need to I will. But I don't see any reason not to yet." Feliciano nodded and for once could feel the uneasiness that was emanating from his brother.

"Then I guess we'll be on our way for n-" The door swung open and Antonio stood in the threshold.

"I can't believe it! Someone stole Gilbert's bike, he'll be so bummed about it! Maybe I should try to get him a new…one." His speech slowed as he spotted the two mirror bodies on the floor of his living room and he couldn't fit the pieces together.

"Who are you?" Maybe he had just missed the other boy when he came in with Feliciano. Was his vision starting to fail him?

"I-uh-I-I-chigi!" Lovino ran into the bedroom and shut the door as he felt his face flush red. This wasn't supposed to happen! He could hear the others from the other side of the door.

"What just happened?" Antonio sounded confused, not his playful confused, but genuinely confused.

"Ve~! That was my fratello! He's just kind of shy and all since it's your first time seeing him like that!" How stupid could Feli be! He knew this would confuse his owner, but it also revealed him even further! Although, he was kind of already revealed wasn't he? He couldn't explain this.

"Have I met him before?" Antonio asked and Lovino heard footsteps come towards the door. "And how did he know I had a room back here?"

"He's been living here for a bit Antonio." Ludwig spoke and Lovino felt himself grind his teeth. What happened to keeping this a secret!

"He has? You're silly Ludwig, surely I would know if someone was living with me!" Lovino couldn't tell what emotions were going through Antonio's mind. Was he confused? Scared? Or could he be smiling like he always does? In that manner that always seems to lighten Lovino's mood.

"He was though! He's Tomate!" It was out now. Lovino couldn't take it anymore and opened the door quickly to pull in a very baffled Antonio. He quickly closed the door again and Feliciano was outside of it in a second. "Fratello?"

"Just leave idiot! I'll handle this, and take the potato bastard with you!" Lovino yelled through the door.

"But fratello…" He could practically see Feliciano's tears starting to form again.

"Now!" He heard footsteps and just as the door was about to close he remembered something. "And if there actually was a fucking bike, check the concession stand by the park!"

The door closed and Lovino suddenly where and what he was doing. He was slouched against the door with his hands clutching Antonio's collar, meaning that the Spaniard was pressed against his chest. He quickly pushed the man away and hissed. Yet another tick. Antonio looked at him for a minute or two and then smiled, before cautiously walking back over.

"You really are Tomate aren't you?" Lovino felt frozen as his owner approached him, eventually making it far enough to pat his head. "Who would've thought my cat could change into a human?"

"Shut up tomato bastard. It's my brother's damn fault for revealing me. I-I can explain everything if you're still confused…"

"That would certainly be nice but I only have one question for you right now." Lovino looked up to meet bright green eyes that were part of a soft expression. "What do you want to know?"

"What's your name?"

**No water was involved in the making of this chapter. But my cat did decide that my stomach was a soft spot to sleep. My cat is 24 pounds. Nuff said. Only one more cat to be revealed! Deciding whether I should do it in an incredibly stupid way or not. XD**

**And yes, Lovino did steal the bikes.**


	8. Chapter 8

**I live! Another busy week, but only two more left! And one is finals, so you won't be seeing much of me then. I've been getting distracted a lot, so I hope I can keep updating this as much as I have been. Time for the final kitteh cat!**

**Thanks for all the reviews and favorites and alerts and everything else all you readers have been doing!**

"Don't try to give cats a bath." Gilbert thought over what his brother had told him the day before. He had already known not to give his awesome cat a bath. He didn't need it! He did need his longer fur brushed though. But why would West even bother reminding him something so obvious?

Gilbert looked over to Birdy who was pushing around a little stuffed mouse. The cat had become more active as the days passed and didn't seem to be so depressed anymore. However, the lavender-eyed cat could still randomly enter states where he wouldn't even get up from his bed. Times like those made Gilbert unsure of what to do and depressed him also.

The albino walked into the other room and began to search for something that he personally thought he would never use again. It didn't take him long to pull out a small black water pistol. He had used it in high school in a water gun war with his friends. Those were much better times, definitely compared to now.

He hid it behind his back and walked into the kitchen, carefully avoiding gaining Birdy's attention. He swore the cat was secretly a genius, he just noticed so many things that other cats Gilbert had seen never did.

He turned on the sink and filled the gun with water. He knew he probably shouldn't be doing this, it was mean to poor Birdy, but why had West reminded him not to do it? His brother was hiding something; either that or his cat scratched him when he tried to give him a bath…or something like that. Cats aren't dogs; his brother should've known that!

Sneaking into the living room, he saw that Birdy was still playing with his mouse. Taking aim, he fired the water gun and a shot of water landed on the floor right next to the mouse. Birdy jumped and quickly turned to his owner. The cat hissed and ran off towards the kitchen. Gilbert quickly followed him, trying to better his aim.

Birdy hid under the table, but Gilbert shot more water in his direction. The cat quickly continued into another room with the albino only steps behind. It turned into a game quickly as Birdy ran from room to room with Gilbert following behind. It was only a matter of time before Gilbert finally managed to corner the cat.

"Come on Birdy! It's only a little water, it won't hurt." The cat hissed and tried to back even further into the corner. Gilbert pointed the black pistol at his cat and pulled the trigger. But no water came out.

Birdy took this opportunity to run and Gilbert yelled after him. Ahead and tired, Birdy sat at the top of the stairs and leaned against a bucket, unaware of the water it contained. The water poured out and down the stairs, almost like a waterfall. Birdy marveled at it, before he heard his master coming.

"Birdy!" Gilbert was running too fast and didn't realize that there was water on the floor and stairs. He slipped on the water and took a not-too-pleasant-sounding fall down the stairs. Birdy, completely forgetting about the water in his worry, ran down until he was sitting next to his owner.

"Ugh. That wasn't very awesome." Gilbert murmured to himself as he sat back up.

"A-Are you okay?" The Prussian froze as he heard a voice from beside him. He turned and came face to face with a young man with pale blonde hair that had a strange curl in it and bright lavender eyes.

"Who are you?" The other seemed to realize where he was and quickly backed away. He held up his hands in an apologetic manner and began to stammer.

"I-I'm so sorry! If you don't w-want me here anymore, I-I'll leave immediately!" His voice was more of a whisper and Gilbert wasn't sure what he meant, but felt a grin grow on his face.

"You're kinda funny. How'd you get in here anyway, I don't think I left the door unlocked again…" Gilbert glanced towards the door and saw that it was indeed locked. This kid hadn't climbed in through a window had he?

"I've been here for a little while now. You were just trying to chase me with a water pistol too." The blonde looked uneasily at the ground as Gilbert struggled to put the pieces together.

"I was just chasing my cat. Speaking of which where is he?" Gilbert looked back up at the stairs, but Birdy wasn't there.

"Um…well I'm right here." He pointed to himself and Gilbert simply stared.

"Dude. I'm pretty sure you're not a cat." The other grew flustered at this. "I am! You've been calling me Birdy, but my name is Matthew. I can tell you anything to prove it. Your best friend is Antonio, your brother is named Ludwig, and they both have cats named Tomate and Ita. You really like birds, your favorite color is 'anything that looks awesome enough for you', and you hate it when people call you German, because you're Prussian."

"Are you a stalker or something?" This was unnerving. Just downright scary in some aspects. How could this guy know so much about him!

"No. I'm your cat. I could transform to show you." All Gilbert could do was nod. How else could he believe something so far-fetched?

Matthew sighed and closed his eyes. His body began to shine a bright shining color before the shape began to morph. The human form shrank until it changed into that of a very familiar cat. Birdy was now sitting in front of him where Matthew had just been previously. He meowed as Gilbert stared in disbelief. The emotion quickly changed to excitement though.

"Awesome! My cat can change into a human!" He picked up Birdy and hugged him to his chest. Suddenly remembering the boy from before, he set the cat back down. "But…can you change back? It feels weird now that I know. Plus I can't really talk to ya."

Birdy, or Matthew, complied and changed back into his human form. The blonde smiled and stood from where he was sitting. "You don't seem that scared. Some people get frightened when they find out about us."

"It's not scary, it's cool! Who would've thought I would get such an awesome cat. Antonio will be so jealous! Kesese~" He stopped as he heard Matthew laugh lightly behind him.

"You have such a strange laugh, but Antonio's cat is a Hybrid like me too. So is Ludwig's." Gilbert froze and disbelief flooded over his face.

"Seriously! I would've thought you guys were a bit rarer than that!" Matthew hastily brought up his hands in an almost defensive way.

"We usually are. It's just chance that all of us are here at the same time. Lovino and Feliciano are brothers and were just passing through when they got caught. I was coming through too with my brother…" Gilbert immediately noticed the depression that he had seen countless in Birdy return.

"What happened?" He didn't know how to comfort him before, but now it might be possible.

"We were both in the pet shop, but someone adopted him before you and Antonio came. I don't know where he is." Matthew began to tear up and Gilbert hastily tried to stop him.

"Don't cry! So that's why you were so depressed. No worries though! Now that I know, the awesome me will help you find him!" Matthew wiped his eyes and looked at him hopefully.

"Really?" Gilbert nodded. "Of course! We just need a lead now."

"I know who adopted him." Matthew offered in his small voice.

"That's awesome! It makes everything easier if you have a name!" Matthew nodded in agreement. "I don't know his name, but I think you do. He was that man we ran into at the park."

Gilbert's expression immediately darkened and Matthew wasn't sure why. "Gilbert? Is something wrong?"

"It just had to be him didn't it? Birdy, that man is named Arthur Kirkland…he's the cousin of a dear friend of mine who passed a while ago. He doesn't really like Antonio and I. We don't like him much either. If he doesn't even know about you guys then he'll just think we're crazy." He turned to face the wall and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I'm sorry to put you into such a situation. You don't have to help me if you don't want to. I wouldn't want to be a bother." Gilbert glanced over to the uncertain Hybrid behind him, and just knew he wouldn't be able to say no.

"It's okay. I would've had to face this issue at some point. And it's your brother! I would be doing the exact same thing if it was West. I'll help." Matthew beamed and Gilbert looked away with a blush.

"Thanks, eh!" Gilbert managed to turn back around without embarrassing himself and smiled.

"Wait, 'eh'? Are you Canadian?" It was Matthew's turn to blush as he fiddled with his fingers.

"I'm from the border between Canada and America. I guess I might have picked it up because of that. My brother definitely picked up some American habits instead." Gilbert laughed and Matthew smiled.

"I'll talk to Antonio and West to see if they know about their cats. If they do, we can start looking okay?" Matthew nodded then turned to look at a current situation.

"Should we clean the stairs?" Gilbert suddenly remembered what had occurred before and groaned.

"Yes, but I don't want to."

**I have spilled water down my stairs before, but my stairs are covered by a carpet. SUCH A PAIN! I imagine Gilbert's are probably hardwood. Did you know that some Canadians actually say 'eh'. I thought it was a stereotype before I met my dad's girlfriend. I was like woah!**

**I feel like I'm not showing some characters as I am others. Being such a devote USUK and Spamano fan, I really want to write more of them, but I can't ignore the other pairings. Writer's troubles~!**

**And I might tell why Lovino took the bikes...maybe. ;3**


	9. Chapter 9

**One more day of actual classes! I've been playing through Pokemon Colosseum again and won a long game of ERS today~! (Egyptian Rat Screw, a card game) Sad news though. Next week I have finals, the weekend after that is Anime Mid Atlantic, and the week after that I leave for Italy for three weeks. In simple words, I won't be able to update for a while. I'll try this weekend or something but who knows?**

**Oh yeah, for AMA, I'm cosplaying Canada again. I enjoy dressing up as him and getting hugs. But people constantly come up to me and ask "who are you?" ...I can understand Canada's frustration now.**

**By the way, whats up with the new image manager? I am too lazy to really figure it out. Also, the new format irks me. I can't zoom in anymore without cutting out words DX **

**Well enough of me talking, enjoy this current chapter~!**

-TomatoLover has logged on-

-TooAwesomeForYou has logged on-

TooAwesomeForYou: how's ur day been?

TomatoLover: oh hi Gil! it's been fine I guess.

TooAwesomeForYou: that so. …how's your cat?

TomatoLover: Tomate? fine. he's really quite a sweetheart! although he may bite you if ya try to pet him.

TooAwesomeForYou: there anything…weird about him? abnormal?

TomatoLover: abnormal? why? is something wrong with Birdy?

TooAwesomeForYou: no, no! Birdy is just fine. i was just asking…

TomatoLover: oh, well he's fine. btw have you ever heard of hybrids?

TooAwesomeForYou: YES! THERE IS SOMETHING UP WITH YOUR CAT! MATTIE TOLD ME!

TomatoLover: OuO did you hit capslock or somethin?

TooAwesomeForYou: no! Tomate is a hybrid isn't he? Birdy and Ita are as well. i know everything

TomatoLover: whoa, that's a lot of info. but I guess ya heard, huh? cool, yeah?

TooAwesomeForYou: ikr! how lucky are we! …but Mattie wants to look for his brother…

TomatoLover: Mattie?

TooAwesomeForYou: my cat, his name is Matthew.

TomatoLover: oh. my cat is Lovino, Ludwig's is Feliciano.

TooAwesomeForYou: wait how do you know all this when I don't!

TomatoLover: Little Feli wanted to see his brother. that's when I met Lovi~!

TooAwesomeForYou: not fair. I just sent a text to West, he better get on here!

TomatoLover: we were going to tell you eventually. that's why I hinted at it! aren't I clever?

TooAwesomeForYou: no. you're an idiot.

TomatoLover: TT^TT so hurtful Gil!

TooAwesomeForYou: getting back to the topic at hand, no matter how unawesome it is…

TomatoLover: meeting up with Arthur?

TooAwesomeForYou: you know?

TomatoLover: yeah, Lovi explained Matthew's situation to me. that was the reason they approached him in the park, but it went downhill

TooAwesomeForYou: it just had to be him didn't it? how unlucky.

TomatoLover: do I have to go, I mean it's your cat right?

TooAwesomeForYou: if I have to go, so do you. no way I'm going alone, even with Mattie.

TomatoLover: but Giiiiilllllllllllll~~~~~

-TheCommander has logged on-

TooAwesomeForYou: you're finally here!

TheCommander: I was busy, unlike some people.

TomatoLover: hi Ludwig! how's Feli doing?

TheCommander: Fine. Does he know?

TooAwesomeForYou: YES I KNOW! geez, you guys are so cruel!

TheCommander: We didn't know how you would react. If we just told you outright you would think we were crazy.

TomatoLover: right! so we had to find another way to figure out if ya knew or not!

TooAwesomeForYou: I hate you people

TomatoLover: no you don't~~~

TheCommander: Have you two also discussed what our Hybrids want to do?

TomatoLover: …yeah

TheCommander: I guess we're truly going through with this then. First, does anyone know where he lives?

TooAwesomeForYou: England!

TheCommander: Bruder, I know he's English, but that doesn't mean he lives in the UK.

TooAwesomeForYou: no really! his house is in England, somewhere around London?

TomatoLover: then why did he bother coming here?

TooAwesomeForYou: I think it's for his job or something

TheCommander: But that means he's probably staying in an apartment each time. That makes the matter of finding them much more difficult.

TomatoLover: doesn't he live near the park? he did walk there didn't he?

TooAwesomeForYou: omg…Antonio, did you just have a good idea?

TomatoLover: did I? *u*

TheCommander: Indeed. That will definitely narrow the search, but there are still quite a few hotels around there.

TooAwesomeForYou: if I know him then he'll be in a really nice suite or something.

TomatoLover: probs

TheCommander: That narrows it down to four. We can go check and see if he's staying at one tomorrow.

TomatoLover: can Lovi come?

TooAwesomeForYou: Mattie too!

TheCommander: I don't mind. Personally I think Feliciano is getting a bit stir crazy.

TomatoLover: man, you should see Lovi then! ah…he's yelling at me now…

TooAwesomeForYou: y?

TomatoLover: he's been looking over my shoulder the entire time. hehe, gotta run!

-TomatoLover logged off-

TooAwesomeForYou: yours that troublesome?

TheCommander: It depends really. He is kind, but extremely clumsy and breaks a lot of things. He's a good cook though, but he cries if he thinks he did anything wrong even if he didn't. He'll cry over nothing, but I don't know why. I guess the pasta makes up for it, but we've had it nearly every night this week. Italians love their pasta.

TooAwesomeForYou: whoa whoa whoa! I didn't ask for your life story West

TheCommander: Sorry, it's been rather stressful. Oh, it appears that dinner is ready. More pasta though. Good night brother.

-TheCommander logged off-

TooAwesomeForYou: Hmm…I'm alone now. Unawesome.

-TooAwesomeForYou logged off-

**I had fun thinking up their online names. Antonio and Gilbert were easy, but I had some difficulty with Ludwig. My friend actually suggested TheCommander and I decided to use it. It was also fun talking for them. I can see Toni and Gil writing without a care for grammar at all. But I feel like Ludwig would still try to make it kinda official, so he uses grammar. **

**Oh yeah, for those of you who don't know what stir crazy means, it is when someone starts going a bit crazy from being cooped up for too long. It happens every now and again when people simply don't get out of the house for a while.**

**The next chapter will be back with Alfred and Arthur. I was planning to do it before this, but this just fit better here.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Oh my god, is this the tenth chapter? Good god it is! Very rare for me to continue stories this far, but I guess that's cuz I don't usually have such an audience. :3 So anyway, got finals to study for so enjoy~**

Arthur glanced out through the curtains to see nothing but an empty street. He nodded to himself and turned to walk over to the other figure currently lying on the couch. Said figure was currently asleep sprawled out on his back. Arthur couldn't help but think that he truly did resemble a cat at the moment. But no time for that.

"Alfred! Come on you idiot, wake up!" Arthur shook the other roughly until two blue eyes looked tiredly at him.

"What is it? It's too early…" Alfred curled a bit more into himself, trying to hide from Arthur's prodding. The Brit honestly did not feel like repeating their normal morning ritual, so he took a more devious approach.

"Looks like I'll have to use my last resort then." This immediately got Alfred's attention. The blue-eyed man turned back quickly with wide eyes.

"You wouldn't." Arthur sneered at this response. "Just try me. Now get up."

As Alfred continued to look at him defiantly, Arthur simply sighed. "I gave you fair warning."

Arthur moved his hands over the other's stomach and began to wiggle them lightly over his shirt. Alfred tried to hold back any sound, but as the other continued he couldn't help but start laughing. Arthur continued until he was sure that the other was 'awake enough' to actually get up. Alfred just glared at him as he stood up.

"I always thought it was weird having a ticklish cat." Arthur gave a small chuckle but grew silent as a hand grabbed the back of his shirt. He was pulled onto the couch and on top of Alfred.

"And I always found it amusing how much more ticklish people are compared to cats." Arthur struggled to stifle a laugh as Alfred began wiggling his own fingers by his sides. In the process, he did manage to lean back against the other without noticing it. Once Alfred stopped, he did realize this and immediately jumped off.

"We should go; he's not out there right now." Arthur mumbled loud enough for Alfred to hear. He was trying to hide how red his face had gotten by not looking at the man behind him. Why was it so red?

"He hasn't been out there for a few days now. Why are you so paranoid?" Arthur turned around angrily.

"How can you not be! That bastard is clearly after you, but then why does he just disappear? Does that mean he found your brother!" Alfred stared at him with a serious expression, something Arthur rarely saw.

"I know that. But worrying about it won't get us anywhere anytime soon. We should leave to go look. Only a week left you know?" Alfred said with a beaming smile. Arthur simply couldn't comprehend this man no matter how long he spent with him.

"I still can't believe you want to come with me. Nothing you do ever makes sense." Alfred stood and grabbed a clean shirt that Arthur had bought for him. He glanced up to stare at Arthur while the other was looking out the window again. "I mean you can't search for someone if you're on the other side of the bloody ocean."

He was the only one who knew why he stayed and why he would even leave his brother to follow the Brit. Ever since Arthur had picked him up at the pet store, he had had this weird feeling rise in his chest. He hadn't been sure what it was, but he had begun to figure it out the longer he stayed with his 'owner'. People tend to think that he can't read the atmosphere, but he could, he simply chose not to. It was more fun that way.

He wouldn't tell him though. Not yet, but maybe after today. To be honest he had no intention on searching for Matthew today. He was worried about him, but first he needed to confirm whether his feeling was true or false. There was only a week left, so why wait any longer?

/

"Lovi~~!" Lovino honestly considered running, but there was nowhere to run to in such a small apartment. So he crossed his arms and glared as his annoying 'owner' practically skipped into the kitchen.

"What do you want bastard?" The Italian tried to focus on his cooking, but was soon torn away as the Spaniard grabbed his hand and pulled him away.

"We should go out today! You've been cooped up for a while you know? We'll be searching around tomorrow, so how about we just walk around a bit today?" Antonio was already making his way towards the door with a flustered Italian behind him.

"Hey! Wait a second dumbass! I can't just leave the stove on, damn it! Do you want to burn down your fucking apartment!" He tore his hand away and ran back to his cooking, which had begun to burn since it had not been carefully watched.

Lovino grimaced and began to turn off the appliances. He sighed and was about to throw the food out when his hand was grabbed again, this time a bit more forcefully. He glared at Antonio who had a serious expression on his face. "You shouldn't waste food Lovi."

"But it's burnt. It would taste disgusting if we ate it." Lovino tried to reach the garbage can again but Antonio took the plate and began to eat the noodles.

"What are you doing! You'll get sick you idiot!" No matter what he said or how hard he tried to get the food away from the Spaniard, he couldn't. Antonio finished the last of the noodles and put the plate on the counter.

"There! That wasn't so bad was it? You shouldn't waste food, even if it's not perfect." Lovino frowned at him but looked at the now empty plate.

"How could you stand eating that shit?" Antonio shrugged and lifted Lovino's hand close to his face.

"When you have nothing to start with, you learn to take what you get. Nothing should be wasted and people should hold onto what they are given." Antonio smiled at Lovino's now red expression as the other pulled away.

"Sure, whatever. You said we were going out right? Where the hell are you taking me?" They walked out of the door and Antonio swung his arms back and forth happily.

"Well I want to show you this place, but I can't until later. So we can go wherever you want to before then!" Lovino groaned but thought about where he would like to go. Where hadn't he been on one of his bike rides?

"C-Could we go to the shopping center?" He wasn't sure why he was nervous, but he felt his heart beat faster just thinking of going somewhere with Antonio. This was so stupid, why was he feeling like this!

"Sure! We could pick up something while we're there too if you want~! We should get going though, that's a little far away from where I want to take you later." Antonio grabbed his hand without a second thought and began to lead him towards the shops. "Any shop you want to go in particular?"

"I don't fucking care. It's just something to look at." Lovino struggled to pull out of the other's grip but gave up after a few minutes of trying. The Spaniard was too damn enthusiastic sometimes.

"Great! There's a really good ice cream shop there that we could go to. It's so delicious~ You should try some! Let's head there first!" Lovino didn't think the Spaniard could become more enthusiastic, but apparently it was as Antonio picked up speed until they were practically running.

It didn't take Lovino long to become accustomed to the speed and he was soon running just behind Antonio. He wasn't sure why, but he was smiling. A genuine smile that he knew he hadn't been able to have for a long time. All his stress and worries just seemed to vanish into thin air. That was until he suddenly ran into Antonio's back. The Spaniard had stopped suddenly and Lovino looked around his figure to see why. That was when he spotted a familiar figure in front of them.

"Matthew?" Lovino was confused, the man looked like Matthew, but at the same time he didn't.

"No, that's not Matthew. I bet it's his brother." Antonio said through gritted teeth. Lovino's confusion grew as he couldn't follow Antonio's logic.

"Alfred? What makes you think it's him?" Well, besides the fact that they looked identical, but it could just be coincidence couldn't it?

"Because of who he's with." Lovino took another look and realized who was walking alongside him. It was another extremely familiar blonde. As the two got closer to the two of them, their laughter died down and even the smile on Alfred's face disappeared. Antonio and Arthur just stared at each other for a second before they both settled into a glare.

"Surprising to see you here, Arthur."

**So the reason Lovino takes the bikes is because he gets bored sitting in the apartment all day. He goes out on rides, but since he doesn't have a bike of his own, he takes others. Silly little Lovi and his mafia stealing skills~**

**Okay so next chapter will either be a continuation of this encounter or another halfie with the other two pairs. What do you guys think? Should I leave ya hanging or what? ;p**


	11. Chapter 11

**Only one more exam! And it's global studies, perfect time to read/watch Hetalia~**

**I looked back to see if I ever described Ludwig's home. I found descriptions of Antonio's, Arthur's, and Gilbert's, but I never really said what Ludwig's looked like. I think... If I did sorry for being repetitive, but I envision it as an apartment, but more similar to Arthur's than Antonio's. Probably on the first floor of the building. **

**And yes, I'm leaving you guys hanging. This chapter actually coincides with the other so the next two will probably feature the USUK and Spamano pairings. After that I have something planned for everyone~**

**By the way, regarding the review that mentioned Alfred being smart, yes he was. I actually did read in a summary of his character that he can read the atmosphere, he just chooses not to. However, like I stated in an earlier chapter, if he's not insightful I will get nowhere on the USUK end. And I like a smartsy Alfred~**

**Have fun reading!**

Matthew walked beside Gilbert along the street. They were going to see Ludwig and Feliciano, and to discuss what the plan would be. Ludwig had found many potential hotels that Arthur could be staying in. They had planned to check for them tomorrow, but Feliciano had invited them over for dinner. However, Matthew wasn't sure why they were going so early.

It was only 2 in the afternoon, much too early for dinner. But Gilbert had insisted that they head over then, and Matthew couldn't find it in him to deny the albino's pleas. Matthew had noticed that the Prussian had been keeping close to him a lot more recently, even showing somewhat tender moments when he was calm. The Hybrid had no idea how to react or what to think about these actions, and it made him wonder. He had even gotten him a stuffed polar bear! (Which he did rather like, but he wouldn't say that out loud.)

Matthew was pulled out of his thoughts when he realized that Gilbert was talking to him. He apologized quickly while Gilbert looked at him with a feigned expression of anger.

"I said, well I actually said a bit, but you weren't listening to the awesome me." Gilbert huffed.

"I said I was sorry. What did you ask?" Matthew requested in his soft voice.

"I asked; what do you think Feliciano is cooking up for us later?" Matthew chuckled, already knowing how obvious that answer was.

"Pasta of course. It's his favorite food and his is quite good, eh?" Gilbert nodded. He stopped suddenly which caused Matthew to do the same. The Canadian looked and saw three kids playing on a playground.

A little blonde girl, probably around seven years old, was counting by a tree while two other children ran to hide. One of the boys, a timid-looking child, hid behind the very tree that the girl was counting in front of while her eyes were closed. Another little girl ran and climbed to the top of the playset, hiding in the upper part of the structure. As their game continued, Matthew noticed how much sadder Gilbert's expression had become.

"Gilbert?" He reached out and held onto his sleeve. The Prussian looked at him with hollow red eyes before quickly perking up again.

"Don't worry your pretty little head, I'm fine." Matthew blushed at the comment and let go of the other's sleeve. "We should get going though. West will kill me if we show up any later than 3:00."

"3:00? Why so early?" Gilbert laughed but then shuddered.

"He likes everything super strict since he got out of the army. It's so unawesome, but it's normal for him. I'll get a lecture if I show up any later, although I usually still do. Thought I'd be nice this time round."

"Your little brother gives you lectures? Shouldn't it be the other way around? Although, I guess my brother and I are like that. He barely acknowledges me though." Matthew sighed and Gilbert's curiosity was spiked.

"You know, you mention your brother a lot. What's he like?" Gilbert asked good-naturedly and Matthew smiled.

"Alfred is a really nice person. He really gets on my nerves sometimes; he's so loud and doesn't think things through. He tries to be a hero even if it means he would throw himself off a cliff for a bird. Those are the traits I really admire though. He's not afraid to do these things and has always been the light of the party. Everybody loves him, but they don't usually see his timid little brother behind him."

"I don't know why people would ignore you, you're too awesome to be ignored just because your brother is a ball of energy! People should see how nice and smart you are, instead of placing you in the background!" Gilbert turned to see Matthew looking at him with wide eyes, a small blush forming on his face.

"The only one who has ever said something like that was Alfred. It's nice to know that people care enough to say something about it." Gilbert had to look away to hide a blush of his own, he had just spoken without thinking to be honest. It meant something to Matthew though. In fact it meant the world to him to hear someone other than his brother say something like Gilbert had.

/

Gilbert knocked on the door and waited with Matthew beside him until an energetic brunette opened the door. Gilbert guessed that this was Feliciano as the Hybrids quickly began to chat together as they walked into the house. The albino walked in to find Ludwig in the kitchen already setting the table.

"Still so early. West you need to relax a bit!" Ludwig looked up at his older brother and sighed. "If I don't keep up with everything, this place would be chaos. Keeping up with you is stressful too."

Gilbert just shook his head, but left Ludwig to continue what he was doing. He came back into the living room where the Hybrids were still talking to one another. He sat down in one of the armchairs and just kept silent for a minute to see what they were even discussing.

"Fratello called earlier and said that he and Antonio couldn't come. I tried to convince him, but he said that Antonio was taking him somewhere, and that nothing would change his mind." Feliciano pouted, obviously unhappy that his brother had made other plans.

"That really is too bad. I wonder what Antonio wanted to show him though. It must be important if he was so insistent about it." Matthew pondered. Neither Hybrid knew the area very well, so they couldn't come up with anything. Gilbert thought for a minute too before concluding that he probably knew where they were going.

"He's probably taking him to the perch." Both of the Hybrids turned with curious expressions, clearly waiting for him to explain. "It's this place that has an awesome overlook of the town. Antonio loves it up there, calling it "the sacred lamp of day". Still not sure where he ripped off that quote, but he probably wants to show it to Lovino."

Feliciano and Matthew looked at him for a second before Feliciano smiled widely. "Ve~ That's so romantic! I'm sure Lovi will absolutely love it~!"

"Romantic!" Matthew asked in surprise. Feliciano looked at him confused for a second before asking. "Yes, romantic. It's good since we're still searching. You're searching as well aren't you?"

Matthew blushed red and Ludwig took this opportunity to walk in. "Search for what? Did you lose something again?"

"Ve~ Not anything today! But we're talking about mates!" If Gilbert had been drinking something, he would have done an outstanding spit-take. Ludwig himself nearly dropped the cup he had been holding. Matthew just wanted to disappear as he observed their reactions.

"M-Mates?" Ludwig managed to say between his racing thoughts. How had it not occurred to him that two cats would probably be looking for mates? They were Hybrids, but they were still cats!

"Yes. Hybrids spend the majority of their lives in search for their mates. Although I'm currently unaware of how we're supposed to test if it works or not. My brother and I were looking for a way to do that." Matthew squeaked out, barely audible to the others in the room.

"Oh you don't know? Lovi and I found a couple of Hybrids who knew how. They kind of had to to show that they were mates after all~!" Matthew stared at him in amazement. "It only takes a kiss!" Matthew deflated again.

"It's not that easy though. I know for a fact Alfred has kissed someone before, and it left him traumatized. He never told me why though." Gilbert was staring at Matthew's troubled expression. Was he sad because of his brother or because he hadn't found knowledge that he clearly wanted?

"It probably wasn't his mate then, that's all! They told me that when we kiss our true mate then we will become equal. Otherwise, we'll become less then. I didn't really get it at first, but I think Lovi did!" Feliciano chirped. Ludwig had since retreated back into the kitchen. He wasn't sure why he had hid, but for some reason the thought of Feliciano kissing someone else had angered him. He left before he reacted.

Gilbert was observing as Matthew's face visibly lit up at this. He didn't feel happy though as he saw Matthew getting so excited over the possibility of finding this mate of his. All thoughts were soon interrupted by a phone ringing until Gilbert realized it was his cellphone. He looked and saw that it was Antonio.

"Toni?" he greeted as he quickly hit the talk button. "Lovino? Why are you calling me? Okay, hold on a second! He's so impatient." He whispered the last part and extended the phone to Matthew. "He wants to talk to you."

Matthew gave him a puzzled expression but took the phone and began talking to Lovino. He walked into another room, leaving Feliciano and Gilbert to sit in an awkward silence. Before either could really figure out what to say to one another they heard a shout from the other room.

"You what! Where is he!" The three other people in the house wandered into the bedroom where Matthew was on the phone. "…What? Oh, I see. That sounds like him…I guess. Thanks for calling, bye Lovino."

"Matthew? What happened?" Feliciano asked and Matthew turned while wiping his eyes quickly.

"Lovino said that he and Antonio ran into Alfred and Arthur." Gilbert and Feliciano brightened at this development, but Ludwig could still sense that something was wrong.

"That's great! You can see him now huh?" Gilbert responded, but Matthew shook his head.

"They all got into an argument. Arthur said that he couldn't wait for the week to end so he could go home. When Lovino mentioned me to Alfred…h-he said that he will see me soon, but I may have to wait for a month or two." Matthew had tears starting to appear in the corners of his eyes. "Why would he make me wait so long? The idiot."

"I think I understand." Ludwig spoke up from the doorway where he now stood alone since the other two had moved to comfort Matthew. "He's planning to return to England with Arthur, whether he finds you or not before then."

"That…that…that jerk! How could he just leave when I'm so worried!" Matthew walked out of the room and towards the door, with everyone on his tail.

"Mattie! Where are you going?" Gilbert called out.

"To find him. He couldn't have gotten far!" Before anyone could object, Matthew changed into his cat form and rushed out of the door.

**Well. Matthew acted a bit rashly huh? By the way, the playground thing was Gilbert's mourning of the past. I'll also probably include the phone call from Lovino's side in the next chapter and a little more insight into what Alfred was actually thinking. He sounded really cruel in this one. :(**

**Somehow got back into checking Pokefarm. Haven't been on there in two years... lolz. OMG Anime Mid-Atlantic is Saturday! I can't wait! Gotta get my Canada cosplay all ready, and try to make the wig less itchy XD**

**Reviews are love~**


	12. NOTE

Hello all, well shall I say see ya around? I've been giving you some heads-ups for a while, but I leave for Italy today. I won't be back until I think the 7th, so no updates :( I hope that you all can wait that long, and I'll be seeing you soon!


	13. Chapter 12

**I'm back~~ Actually I got back a few days ago but got attacked by jet lag. A flight from Rome to Paris to Washington DC does that to ya. Plus I've been exhausted because of how much walking we had to do in Italy. I'm not used to so many inclines, and the duomo at the Vatican is not fun to climb all the way to the top. As for the list I got in the reviews, I did all of that except talk to a pretty girl (cuz I am a girl) and run from a German tourist (we didn't really see any. There were a lot of Japanese tourists though and I talked to a few of them XD). I miss gelatto...**

**I got so many Spamano ideas though. Thrilled about that and interested to see how many actually turn into stories. So yeah, hi again all!**

"Surprising to see you here, Arthur." The Brit glared as the Spaniard basically spat out the simply sentence. Lovino could sense how quickly the mood had turned sour as could the other Hybrid present.

"What? I can't bloody walk in this town anymore just because someone like you has the nerve to tell me so? I've lived here just as long as you have you wanker." Antonio's sneer was replaced with a frighteningly calm expression.

"I suppose you have a point. Although you couldn't even have the graces to return to your precious town when you should have!" Alfred moved to Arthur's side and tried to pull him away.

"C'mon Artie. Let's go, you don't need to listen to any of this shit." The American was smiling but a darker aura could be felt as he looked at the Spaniard and his Hybrid. Arthur glared at him and moved out of his grasp.

"I can bloody take care of myself. And I won't let this bastard accuse me of something that I had no influence over!" Lovino could feel Antonio's anger rise to near boiling point.

"No influence over! How can you possible say that! You should have come back as soon as you heard about him!" Antonio didn't want to face this right now, especially not when he had been trying to have a nice day with Lovino.

"You don't think I did! But for some fucking reason I didn't even hear about his death until after the funeral! Whose fault is that! " Antonio went quiet for a few moments and this gave Alfred an opportunity to pull Arthur away. "Just this week left. That much longer and I can leave this hell hole forever!"

"Come on, we should be going now. There's no point in hanging around any longer." Arthur didn't protest as he allowed Alfred to lead him away from the other pair. Lovino suddenly remembered that this was the Hybrid that Matthew had been searching so long for.

"Alfred!" The blonde turned around, a bit confused by his expression. "Why don't you come with us? Your brother's been looking for you and we know where he is. We can fucking take you to him if you come with us."

Arthur looked distressed at this possibility and Alfred looked a bit guilty. He shook his head and offered a sad smile to Lovino. "Sorry, I can't right now though. I promise I'll come to see him, could you ask him to wait for a month or two though? Tell him he should focus on other things and that I'm fine. He shouldn't be worrying about the hero anyway!"

A grin spread across the American's face and Arthur looked relaxed once more. Alfred continued in the other direction while waving back at Lovino, who stood stunned. He felt terrible, he had been unable to bring back Matthew's brother even when the chance had been right in front of him. Although he doubted that there was any possibility of him being able to force Alfred to stay and come back to his brother.

"Lovino? Are you okay?" The Hybrid turned to his 'owner' with an annoyed expression.

"I should be asking you that tomato bastard! My god, you always get so damn worked up whenever that guy is even mentioned. It's kind of fucking scary you know?" Antonio smiled and rubbed Lovino's head to which the other quickly moved away. "Whatever, can I see your phone?"

"Hmm? Sure!" Antonio reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. "Who are you calling?"

"I want to talk to Matthew. He should hear any news about his brother, don't you think?" Antonio nodded while Lovino looked through his address book. "Damn, why do I have to call that potato bastard?" This caused Antonio to laugh as he also recalled that Lovino would have to call Gilbert to get in touch with Matthew. Lovino dialed the number and waited.

"No, it's Lovino. Just put Matthew on the phone." He heard some shuffling in the background and soon it was Matthew's confused voice that he heard on the other end.

"Hi Matthew. You'll never believe who we just ran into. That was a rhetorical question you idiot. We ran into Alfred and Arthur." Lovino pulled the phone away from his ear as Matthew shouted in an uncharacteristically loud voice.

"Calm down already. We…We didn't really talk or anything. Antonio and Arthur started fighting and then we parted. Arthur said something about "just this week left" or something like that. When we asked Alfred if he wanted to come with us he said that he couldn't. He also mentioned that you may have to wait a month or two, but he seemed confident that you'd be fine without him. I'm also pretty damn sure he was hinting that you should focus on finding your mate. I think you can connect the dots."

Lovino gave a sad smile as he listened to his friend on the other end. It was only then that Antonio took the time to realize what was going on. As soon as it had clicked for him as well, he wasn't that slow, he felt regret pour over him as he hadn't tried to stop Alfred.

"Yeah, I'll see you later. Bye Matt." Lovino clicked the button that hung up the phone and handed it back to Antonio. "That cat's going to do something stupid, I can already see it."

"Well wouldn't you if it were you and Feli in the same situation?" Lovino remained quiet as he realized what Antonio said was true. "I'm just worried that he'll do something dangerous or something."

"I know. Oh, by the way what's this talk about a mate?" Lovino's face changed to a vivid red and he quickly turned away from the Spaniard. "Do we really need to fucking talk about that right now? It's nothing important!"

"Is it like a lover? Because don't animals have mates that are pretty much like lovers?" Lovino tried to stutter out an answer but was struggling and would've much preferred to drop the subject right now.

"You could say that I guess. But it's a whole new meaning on the word 'forever'." Antonio tilted his head like a child, silently asking for Lovino to continue which he reluctantly did.

"You're right about a mate being like a damn lover. It is, but it's eternal. We don't get to choose and the majority of us don't really know how to fucking tell if someone is our mate or not. The main saying that travels around is that "your mate is your true equal". But what the fuck does that mean!"

"I don't know, but I bet you'll know when you find them." Lovino was still looking at the ground and Antonio noticed for once. "Is there something else?"

"…I don't want to fucking find my mate if Feliciano doesn't too." Lovino's hands were clenched into fists and he was biting his lip. Antonio didn't know why this was so important. They'd still be together wouldn't they?

"Why? Wouldn't Feli want you to be happy?" Lovino's anger turned to him now.

"That's not fucking why! It's just-it's just…" Lovino went silent again which only made Antonio's curiosity grow.

"What's wrong?" Antonio gripped Lovino's shoulder in a reassuring manner. It seemed to comfort the other and he managed to continue.

"When we find our mate, both we and our mates become truly eternal." Antonio still didn't completely understand what Lovino was trying to say. "Eternal? So you and your mate are together until you die?" Lovino glared at him and pressed his temples.

"You idiot. We become immortal!"

**Immortality. Would be very boring and depressing if you had no one to spend it with. But the thing with Hybrids is that if they never find their mate, they simply age and die like a normal human. I rather enjoy coming up with new concepts for my little Hybrids.**

**With love, Elvevann~ 3**

**(By the way, can anyone guess what my name means? I like quizzing people :3)**


	14. Chapter 13

**Long chapter became a tad bit long. I just couldn't separate these two! Okay maybe not terribly long, but a bit longer than I usually do. Next chapter is when things will start picking up a bit...maybe. We'll see where my mind goes. :3 I've started having a bunch of plot bunnies take over my mind. Too many story ideas in meh head! It's a mystery how many will actually make it on paper...word document.**

**As for my name, no it has nothing to do with elves or elvan anything. It means river water in Norwegian, which my family can trace their heritage back to. I'm very proud of this heritage~!**

**Onwards to the story! **

Alfred and Arthur made their way through a park that had been abandoned by others as the sun had gone down. The sun was setting and it would be dark soon, but Arthur didn't mind following behind Alfred at the moment. It comforted him in fact, especially after he had watched his Hybrid choose him over his own brother. It made him feel guilty though, as he felt that he shouldn't be keeping them apart.

"How about we stop here for a sec? We've kinda been wandering for a while now huh?" Alfred rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and Arthur simply nodded, sitting on the bench that was placed behind them. Alfred sat next to him, at a bit of a distance but still close enough that he wasn't on the other end of the wooden structure.

They lapsed into an awkward silence for a bit as they watched the sun set together. Arthur rested his head on his hands as he rested his arms on his knees. He just watched the sun slowly decline, unaware of a pair of blue eyes that were content with watching him. Alfred was the one who decided to end their observing sessions with a simple question.

"Are you okay?" Arthur turned his green gaze from the sunset to the other person sharing the bench with him.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" He returned his gaze to the sun as Alfred shuffled slightly closer, although a bit uncomfortably.

"Well…I guess I got a bit worried earlier. You know, with the run-in and all. I know how stressed you've been and all, so… I just wanted to make sure, you know?" Alfred struggled to find a way to put his thoughts into words as Arthur straightened up again and looked at him.

"I'm perfectly fine you git. It's nice to know you're concerned, but it really isn't anything you should trouble yourself with." Alfred nodded a bit uneasily. He knew it wasn't that simple, but if Arthur didn't want to talk, then he wouldn't bother him about it.

"However, I still can't believe you actually did what you did." Alfred turned back to stare back at the Brit beside him. "What are you talking about Artie?"

"Turning down such a great bloody chance to see your brother again! You've wanted to see him haven't you? That Italian finally gave you the opportunity to meet with him but you turned it down. I just-I don't understand why you would do that. Surely it's not like I'm worth that much. People have always thrown me aside."

"What are you talking about? Of course you're worth it, the only reason I turned down that offer was so that I could stay with you!" Arthur stared at him in disbelief then turned away.

"Surely you're lying. There's just isn't a reason to do something so idiotic." Alfred glared defiantly and took Arthur's hands in his own, turning his attention so that it was fully on him.

"There is a reason. I'm not going to throw you aside alright? But please stop treating yourself like you're not worth it. Forget whoever made you feel like that okay? Please, I don't like it when you talk like that." Arthur found himself unable to pull away, but his mind was racing. His brothers had never treated him well, his friends had always left him, and even his lovers had eventually deemed him as not worth it. Why was this Hybrid treating him so differently?

"Artie…" Ignoring the nickname for once, he looked Alfred straight in the eye and didn't even realize as he moved slightly closer. He didn't remember closing him eyes either as their lips eventually connected. He had never before felt like what he was doing was right, but this time it did. He did remember however, feeling the strangest sensation that he had ever felt in his life and suddenly not feeling the touch of Alfred.

Alfred had felt the same sensation, but his came with a wave of dread. He knew that he had turned into a cat, even before he opened his eyes. This had happened the first few times he had kissed someone he thought could be his mate, he would become a cat and have to deal with a baffled human. There was nothing fucking equal about that! He had prepared himself for this possibility, but had been dearly hoping that it wouldn't occur. He looked to where he knew Arthur was but froze.

His irritable British owner was no longer sitting in front of him; in his place was a white Scottish fold with a light brown spot on half of his face and a light brown tail. Very familiar green eyes were looking around confused with strange markings that resembled eyebrows above them. When his eyes settled on Alfred, he began yelling at him.

"Alfred, why are you a bloody cat! What the hell, why am I even eye-level with you! What is going-" He was cut off as Alfred tackled him and began licking his face lovingly. "A-Alfred!"

"It is you! I'm so happy Artie! You are my mate!" Arthur couldn't even come up with a response but sat up when Alfred got off of him, although he stayed very close to him. He looked at his paw and at the rest of his body, slowly letting reality set in his mind as he realized he was indeed a cat.

"So does this mean I'm a Hybrid now too?" Alfred nodded. "I already explained how mates work to you. Now we can be together forever!"

Arthur offered a small smile at this and pressed himself against his new mate. "I guess we are, love."

**-/-/-/-/-**

"Tomato bastard, where are we going!" Lovino really wanted to run and find Matthew as soon as possible, he knew that the Hybrid couldn't possibly be handling the news he received well. Yet Antonio had been insistent that they continue to their destination.

"Don't worry Lovi~! Only a little bit farther and we'll be there." Antonio could understand Lovino's concern for his friend, but he really wanted to have this moment with him. And if he was worried about Matthew, that would make him think about Alfred, which would make him think about Arthur, which made him rather angry. He wanted to get his mind off of these things at the moment.

Thankfully, they arrived at their destination just as the sun was beginning to set. It was an area that not many people visited anymore, but it was a simple clearing that was located at a higher elevation than the rest of the town. Antonio loved this place because of the beautiful view it provided when the sun was setting. The warm red rays that would spread over the town for a split second, before moonlight would take its place. He looked out from their spot and was relieved to see that the sun was in a perfect spot.

Lovino's attention had been stolen rather quickly by the sight. It was breathtaking. He could see the majority of the town from this location and the way the sun bounced off the buildings would cast both shadows and a beautiful hue as the light spread across the land. It quickly took his mind off of current affairs and he found himself walking to the edge of the area, determined to see as much as he could.

Antonio walked up beside him, happy that Lovino was as absorbed as he had been when he first came. The view reminded him of the town he lived in back in Spain when he was a child. Most of the memories were blurs, but he remembered sitting in a similar position with his mother, watching the sun decline in the sky like they were now. Being able to share this kind of moment with Lovino made him happy.

"Do you like it?" Lovino turned momentarily to Antonio before quickly turning back to the sight before him. "Mmm. It reminds me of my home back in Rome. I miss those days when everything still made sense."

"I'm glad. I really wanted to show you this today, there aren't even any clouds today either." Antonio, feeling shy for once in his life, moved his hand slowly to Lovino's eventually taking it into his own. He was surprised when Lovino returned the hold, even intertwining their fingers.

"I guess I should say 'thank you' or something stupid like that." Antonio smiled at his shy behavior.

"You don't need too. I'm just happy that it got your mind off things!" Antonio offered one of his bright smiles as Lovino looked at him with a red face.

"I fucking meant for all the stuff you've done. You've been taking care of me even after you knew I had a human side. I know you can barely afford it bastard. But…but you don't kick me out or even ask me to leave." Lovino's grip tightened as he continued to watch the lessening sun.

"Of course I wouldn't! I don't think I would ever be able to ask you to leave Lovi. Even if I had to become homeless to support you." Lovino looked at him now. "Why the fuck would you do that?"

"Because I love you Lovi. I know I say that a lot, but I really mean it this time. It's hard to believe but I can be serious when I need to be." Lovino's face was red as a tomato now as Antonio simply continued to smile. He pulled his hand away from Antonio's, which led to Antonio fearing that he would be rejected. However, he moved his hands up to his collar and got a tight grip.

"Bastard." And he pulled him down so that their lips connected in a warm and passionate kiss. It was short-lived as a strange sensation rushed through Antonio and he felt himself become much smaller…and fluffier?

Lovino opened his eyes, when had he closed them?, and realized that he was a cat. He didn't completely understand but when he spotted another cat in front of him it clicked. It was a primarily white cat with a pale brown streak down his back that started at his head with jade green eyes that were watching Lovino curiously.

"Is this what they fucking meant by equal?" Antonio smiled like he always did, not entirely realizing what was going on. He just knew that Lovino had returned his affections and that they were clearly mates. Why else would he have become a cat? He was a cat right? He couldn't really tell, it was more of a guess.

Antonio walked over, adjusting to walking on four legs, and licked the top of Lovino's head. "Are you happy Lovi?"

"…I am. I would be damn excited if I knew that Feliciano found his mate too." Antonio laughed. "I'm sure it won't take that much longer. Ludwig only needs to realize how he feels~!"

"The potato bastard! …Do you really think they fucking like each other?" Lovino wasn't happy at that prospect, but it's not like he had any influence over choosing Feliciano's mate. If it was him then it was him, whether he liked it or not.

"It's pretty obvious. Just give them a little time. That's all they need!"

**It's 12:50. I need sleep~~~~ I've been waking up really early for some reason recently. I blame either jet lag or the sun that beams through my window. But that doesn't explain me waking up at 6:30. -.-; **

**Oyasuminasai~~~**


	15. Chapter 14

**Bonjourno. So my cousin (whose just got back from orientation at VCU) totally freaked when she met my boyfriend. I think he was slightly scared XD. Speaking of scared, he won't see a scary movie with me D: Why won't guys ever sit through a scary movie? ;w;**

**So that was my day. And I finished this chappie today as well and read some other FF. And got scared watching MarbleHornet's videos. Love em but they're creepy. Masky is growing on me though.**

_Al, why are you such an idiot? Why can't you even stop by for a simple visit? That's all I need! I just want to see you once and make sure you're okay instead of you just running of to god knows where doing god knows what. Why are you such a difficult brother sometimes? You should know I worry, maybe a little more than needed, but you're the only family I have. So why do you put me through these kind of things!_

Matthew continued to run in an aimless direction until he was exhausted. He settled down on a patch of grass inside of a big park he had ended up in. Well maybe it wasn't that big, but it felt big to a cat. He looked around and watched as the night breeze blew the leaves from the trees around him and brought the chill air with it. Fall would be on them before they knew it.

For once, he had been the idiot. He had acted rashly and now he was both lost and confused. He should've waited to talk to Lovino and Antonio before just running out and thinking the worst of his brother. He probably had his reasons, or maybe not, he is Alfred after all. However, this time it felt like he was missing something important.

He thought about what Gilbert, Ludwig, and Feliciano would be doing right now after he ran out. Ludwig would be calm, for some reason he always is. Or angry, but that usually had to do with Feliciano. What would Feli be doing? That cat was a complete mystery sometimes, but he was probably trying to contact Lovino in a panic. That left Gilbert.

He didn't know why his face got warmer at the thought of his 'owner'. It had been doing that a lot recently, but he didn't know why. Maybe he was sick? But it only happened when he thought about Gilbert, so that couldn't be it. He stood back up and pushed those thoughts to the back of his head. He still needed to find Alfred, although he still didn't know where to look.

Instead of running this time, he walked, listening to the sounds around him and furthermore trying to find his way out of the park. He stuck to the walkways and passed a few benches and a fountain after a while, but still no exit. This place was a lot bigger than he had thought. He heard some voices, but every time he went towards them they were always people. Most were just walking by and overly ignored him, while others would stop to pet him for a second.

When he realized that he had somehow gone in a circle and was back at a bench he recognized because of a stray weed that had wrapped its way around one of the legs, he sat in defeat. He couldn't even get out of a park, how was he supposed to find his brother!

A rustling sound behind him made him spin around and come face-to-face with a pair of bright green eyes. He stood frozen for a second as another cat made his way out of the bushes and stared at him with an irritated expression. Matthew didn't recognize him, but his scent gave him easily away as a Hybrid.

"What the bloody hell were you thinking you idiot! Not only did we both get lost, but do you know how many damn times I've tripped already! Where'd you run off to anyway?" He was watching me waiting for any form of reaction. When he received nothing he looked puzzled. "Are you alright, love? Did something happen?"

"I-I believe you may be mistaking me for somebody else." I finally managed to respond, but it came out as more of a whisper. Nonetheless he heard me.

"Oh. Terribly sorry about that, I just got separated from someone who looks a lot like you. Again, sorry for the inconvenience." He turned to walk away again, but I managed to say "stop" in my dazed state, making him turn around again.

"Who is it that you're looking for?" He looked a bit suspicious at my sudden question. "Why is it any of your concern?"

I moved a bit uneasily under his gaze but there was just a feeling that if the cat he was looking for looked like me, it could be Alfred. "I'm also looking for someone. My brother actually, and he looks a lot like me since we're twins, so I thought maybe you were also looking for the same per-"

"Iggy!" A sudden white ball of fur suddenly jumped out of the bush behind the other cat and landed on top of him. Matthew was stunned into silence as he immediately recognized not only the scent but the cat in front of him.

"Ack-! Get off of me you git!" The cat obeyed but stayed directly next to the smaller cat. "Do you know how much you weigh in this form!"

"I'm sorry, but I was just so worried. When I turned around you weren't there! I've been looking everywhere! I'm just happy I found ya though!" He laughed and the other cat was flicking his tail in annoyance.

"You lost me because you ran off! I'm not used to walking on all fours yet you idiot!" The cats were so absorbed in their argument that he had been completely forgotten. That happened more than he would like to admit.

"Alfred?" Both cats grew silent and turned to him. The green-eyed cat in confusion and Alfred with surprise. His surprise was quickly replaced with a smile and he walked over to him.

"Mattie? What are you doing out here? Not that it's not awesome and all that you found me, but why are you out here alone?" Alfred looked behind him to see if he was with anybody, but Matthew was just happy to see his brother.

"I'm here by myself looking for you. How could you just walk away when Lovino said you could visit me? And months! Alfred, how can you expect me not to worry at something like that!" Alfred's smile never faded as Matthew felt his anger begin to fall.

"Sorry, Matt. But I couldn't just leave Artie all alone! That's why I didn't come with those two guys from before. The whole month thing was because he's leaving for England at the end of the week and I was planning to go with him. It wouldn't be forever, just for a little bit." Nevermind. His anger was back.

"So you were just going to vanish! How do you think that would've made me feel, knowing that my brother just left me behind to go to England with a guy that everybody hates!" That did it. Alfred's smile had completely disappeared to be replaced with a glare that made Matthew's body feel like it would freeze. He had never seen such an angry expression in his life, especially from his brother.

"It…It's fine. Alfred. I'm fine." Both of them turned back to the green-eyed cat next to Alfred, who had at some point moved to his side. His green eyes had a blank look and he just leaned against Alfred while looking at the ground. Alfred glared at his brother, but Matthew was slightly confused at what was happening. It occurred to him now that he knew this cat was a Hybrid, but he had no idea what his name even was. Alfred had called him 'Iggy' but surely that wasn't his actual name?

"Iggy…" Alfred rubbed his head against the other cat in a comforting gesture while the other smiled and rubbed back.

"I have a name you git and it isn't Iggy. Why can't you cease those stupid nicknames? It's Arthur, A-R-T-H-U-R. Is it really that difficult?" Matthew suddenly felt horrible, but more so confused. Alfred's owner was a human, not a Hybrid. How did?

"W-Why are you a Hybrid?" Alfred turned to him, anger seemingly forgotten and smiled wide.

"Oh Mattie! I figured out what that whole equality thing means. When you kiss your mate, they become a Hybrid too! Can you believe that? Those old-timers were teasing us, well young-looking old-timers. Anyway now that I think about it, they were always human when they talked to us. Who would've guessed?"

Matthew didn't even hear past the word mate. He was staring wide-eyed at Arthur, who was moving a bit uneasily under the sudden scrutiny. Alfred didn't seem to notice until Arthur was so uneasy that he moved behind the bigger cat.

"You found your mate?" Matthew said in disbelief, now turning his attention to Alfred who was looking at Arthur behind him. "That's…that's great."

"I know right? We just need to find yours and we'll be all set now! Although I guess we have to wait for a little bit, but that's okay!" Matthew put on a fake smile that he knew would fool his brother and nodded. He could tell Arthur wasn't as easily fooled as there was guilt and concern in his green eyes.

"Of course Al. I think I should be heading back now. Gilbert and everybody are probably getting worried. Just…just keep your promise this time okay?" Alfred nodded and he and Arthur walked in the opposite direction. Matthew smiled and turned away, walking into the darkness once again.

Alfred had found his mate, and they were both leaving in only a few days. He felt like he should be crying, but he did feel sort of…happy. He felt happy that his brother had found his mate, even if it meant they wouldn't see each other for a little bit. He laughed to himself and continued to walk through the park, trying to find his way home.

He barely made it a few steps before something surged through him and everything went black.

**Dun. Dun. DUN~~~~! I leave you peeps hangin' XD Dinner awaits me so I'll say goodbye for now and see you soon!**


	16. Chapter 15

**Sorry to leave ya'll hangin. My brother got me readdicted to the Sims games and I had a little bit of writer's block for a few days. Also, plot bunnies have taken over my desktop. -.- They're nice when they're in small amounts and don't make my mind spin. My teeth still hurt too, got some fillings. Ugh, my lip was numb for two hours and it felt so wierd! I've also been watching the MarbleHornets videos on Youtube. They're awesome if you like supernatural creepy/scary stuff. If you watch them, watch the totheark vids as well! I 3 Masky :3 But Slenderman creeps me out.**

**Enough for excuses, point is, I've been preoccupied. XD So here you go~**

"Hey, Alfred." Arthur spoke up from behind the other as they began walking away from where they had parted with Matthew. They had changed into humans after a few seconds when Arthur had tripped right from the get go. So the now-human Alfred turned with a questioning look.

"Yeah? Whatcha need Artie?" Arthur fought not to yell at him about the nickname and instead continued on to what he had been thinking about.

"Are you sure we should've just left your brother like that?" Alfred looked at him with a surprised expression then laughed light-heartedly.

"I guess I was a little harsh on him huh? It's just…I don't like it when people insult you, is all." Arthur sighed and gave him a solid slap on the back of the head. Alfred looked at him with feigned hurt and Arthur gave him a slight grin.

"I can take care of myself git. Now come on, if you really aren't going to see him for a month or two you better apologize. No hard feelings right?" Alfred's expression slowly returned to his normal cocky expression and he pulled Arthur forward for a quick kiss.

"Why are you always right? It's not fair!" Alfred walked back towards where they had last seen Matthew, pulling Arthur behind him by his hand. They hadn't gone that far so they were back at the bench in a few minutes. It was what they saw there that made them stop behind it.

In front of them was a man they recognized immediately as the strange doctor who had been standing outside of their apartment for weeks. He was walking back over to a white van with a picture of an animated sun with a purple ring around it, making it look like Saturn. He was carrying a cat crate, but they couldn't tell if there was anything in it from where they stood. They both crouched down behind the bench and watched for a minute or two as the man opened the back and set the crate inside. Once he moved aside to close the door, they both got a glimpse of white fur with grayish markings.

"Mattie!" Alfred jumped out of their hiding spot and ran over to the van. Arthur couldn't react fast enough as the man pulled out an electric cattle prod. He managed to push it against Alfred's shoulder and let the current surge through his body. The Hybrid fell to the ground and Arthur ran over to check his condition.

The man stood in front of them as Arthur looked up with a glare. He seemed to be examining them and then just grinned. "You two wouldn't be very interesting to study. Guess I was a bit too late."

He turned away and walked back to his van. Not wasting anytime, he went to the front seat and drove off. Arthur was cursing under his breath at everything that had just taken place.

**/**

"Do you think everything's okay?" Feliciano asked no one in particular, rather to the group that had gathered. He was sitting next to Ludwig on the couch with Gilbert on the other end. Lovino and Antonio had come over a little bit after the phone call. They had been silent the entire time, somewhat surprising for the two, but they were probably worried about Matthew too.

"I'm telling you guys we should just go out there and start looking! What if something did happen?" Gilbert stood as if he were going to run out the door, but his brother grabbed his wrist. A simple look and he sat back down.

"This is our fault. I shouldn't have fucking called him." Lovino was sitting on the floor with Antonio back to back. No one bothered asking why they didn't sit in the chairs, but it wasn't that big of a deal either way.

"It's not your fault. He might have been angrier if you two hadn't called at all." Ludwig was the only one who appeared completely calm, although he was as worried as anyone in the room. A heavy silence filled the room once more, and it was broken by a loud ringing sound. Gilbert nearly jumped out of his seat as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He looked shocked at the number, but reluctantly answered.

"How do you have this number? W-Wait, slow down! I can't-dude, shut up already or I'm hanging up! …What? Wait, I'll put you on speaker." The rest of the people in the room looked at him confused until he set the phone down in the center of the coffee table with the volume all the way up. "Okay. Now please repeat what you just said, but slower!"

"…O-okay." Antonio immediately jumped up as the voice spoke. Lovino fell back behind him, but he was glaring at the phone, then Gilbert.

"Gil, why is he of all people calling you!" Gilbert stood up as well and returned Antonio's glare. "You think I know why he's calling the awesome me? I don't fucking know! He's going to explain it all anyway."

"Hey you stupid tomato bastard! Why'd you just let me fall!" Lovino had stood up and Feliciano got up to try to get his brother to calm down. Ludwig stood in an attempt to do the same with Gilbert. Gilbert and Antonio rarely fought, but if they did it could turn ugly fast.

"Lovi it's okay, I'm sure he didn't mean it." "Stay out of this Feli. It's not your fucking business!" "Bruder, just calm down." "Shut up West, this is between Antonio and I." "Lovi, I'm sorry. But Gilbert is just being such a bastard right now. How could he even be in touch with Arthur of all people!"

Voices and arguments filled the room to the point where the person on the other end of the phone was losing patience, rapidly. He held the phone away from his ear and was going to wait for it to die down, but knew it wasn't an option as he looked down to see his mate still unconscious in his lap.

"Will you all just bloody shut up! Look, I have Gilbert's number because I got it while we were in high school. It's not like he knew I still had it! Now will you all stop arguing because there are other problems right now! Matthew was just taken by some creepy scientist and Alfred is unconscious and I just-I don't know what the bloody hell I'm supposed to do now!"

The room grew silent once again as the electric voice yelled at them. After a bit of silence the voice spoke up again. "Why did I even bother calling you wankers? This was a stupid idea."

"Wait! Don't hang up!" Gilbert picked up the phone again. "If something happened to Birdie then tell me!" Ludwig pulled the phone out of his brother's iron grip and looked uncertainly at it for a second before he spoke.

"You should come over here to explain it to us better. It would be easier in person than over the phone. Could you come over here if I gave you the address?" He was answered by silence on the other end until Arthur finally managed to come up with an answer.

"I guess I could if you all don't mind us being there. It might take a little bit because of Alfred, but I think I could manage the git." Ludwig nodded and looked at the rest of the group before turning it off of speaker and walking into the kitchen with Feliciano on his tail. This left Antonio and Gilbert awkwardly trying not to look at one another.

"I'm sorry Gil. I shouldn't have assumed something like that. If he still has the numbers from high school then he probably has mine too." Antonio laughed awkwardly and Lovino just stared at him while hugging his arm.

"Nah, it's alright. A lot of people probably have my awesome digits anyway. Maybe you two can clean up everything this time, you know? No more stupid arguing?" Antonio looked uncertain but nodded and smiled like he always did.

"Maybe. I'll try, for Matthew if nothing else." Gilbert smiled his customary grin and the three of them took to the couch until Ludwig and Feliciano returned from the other room.

**Next chapter should be interesting~**

**Okay, so I had no idea what a cattle prod was called when I was thinking of it. So I had to try to ask my mom and was describing it as "those pole things that people use. It's like a taser though cuz it has electricity too." She had no idea what I was talking about so I searched "electric weapons" online. -.-; **

**Lolz, see you all later. Time to annoy my kitty cat named Football.**


	17. Chapter 16

**Good afternoon everybody. It's currently 9:50 p.m. here and since our cable is being mean again, my mother and I can't watch NCIS so we're listening to my iPod. :3 I have way too much time and so much work I should be doing XD Currently listening to Anchor by Mindy Gledhill. Good song, found it cuz it was on Bones.**

Arthur walked uneasily into the house but was glad when Ludwig walked over and helped him support Alfred. He had been extremely lucky that it wasn't that far of a distance from the park, otherwise someone might have had to come to help him. It was still incredibly awkward as he walked in and they set Alfred in one of the chairs.

Feliciano walked over to tend to Alfred and Arthur stood only a few steps away. Ludwig walked back over to stand next to his brother, who was trying to wait patiently as Arthur and Feliciano were preoccupied with Alfred. Lovino was standing next to Antonio, silently rubbing circles in his back to try to calm him down.

It only took a few minutes for the Italian hybrid to deem Alfred okay, and he stood and turned to Arthur with his normal smile. "Ve~ He's fine, just unconscious. He should wake up any minute now."

Arthur simply nodded to him and looked to Alfred. Feliciano stayed a second longer and sniffed the air, before turning back to Arthur. The Brit looked at him confused and nearly jumped back as the Hybrid sniffed him more closely. Feliciano moved a few steps back and smiled at him before walking back over to Ludwig.

"Feliciano, what were you doing?" Ludwig couldn't help but ask as the Italian bounced back over to his side.

"I thought I smelled another Hybrid, and it turns out I did~!" All eyes were suddenly on Arthur as he was kneeling down to check on Alfred. They would probably learn the details later as there was a more pressing matter at the moment.

"So what happened to Birdy?" Gilbert waited as Arthur stood back up and stared at him for a second.

"He was taken by a man in a doctor's attire shortly after we saw him in the park. Alfred tried to stop him and this is what happened." Mixed reactions filled the room as Arthur continued.

"The bastard had been watching Alfred and I for the past few weeks. We never could confirm if it was because Alfred was a hybrid but now I'm pretty certain. However, he said something that confused me while we were at the park. He said that we "wouldn't be interesting to study" or something like that. He mentioned being "too late" but why would someone who watched us for weeks turn down such a perfect opportunity to take the two of us?"

"Is there anything that makes you different from Matthew?" Ludwig asked while he looked toward his own hybrid hoping for answers.

"I don't think so. I mean what could there be?" Arthur tried to think but came up blank.

"Well, you two are mates right? That's something that Matthew didn't have." Everyone looked with surprise at Feliciano, who for once had actually made an intelligent insight. Arthur had gone beet red at the mention of mates. "I suppose so. That would actually make sense since we weren't mates while he was watching us. I'm an idiot, how could I not have noticed that!"

"It's not like you could have done anything. We need to focus on getting Mattie back!" Gilbert walked towards him and crossed his arms. "Did you see anything we can go off of? He had to get away in something obviously?"

"He only had a white van. There was a weird design I'd never seen though. It was a sun with a face and there was a strange purple ring around it. He also had a cattle prod, I don't know if that helps or not." Lovino perked up at the description.

"Did the sun have a stupid grin on it?" Arthur turned to the hybrid he had met earlier that evening. The one standing beside Antonio, whom was still glaring at him. "I believe so. Why?"

"I've seen the damn thing before. There's some old warehouse a few blocks from Antonio's apartment with the same obnoxious design plastered on one of the walls. There are quite a few fields around the area, so I assumed it was an abandoned farm or something."

"Oh, I know where you're talking about! That's the Listry building. They used to run a large produce business there, but they closed down three years ago. It was such a disappointment, they had some great fruit." Antonio spoke up for the first time since Arthur had arrived earning a few glances.

"If the place is out of business then it's likely that he would have taken Matthew there. A big warehouse is a good place to do anything without someone else noticing. It's the only lead we have and we need to act quickly." Ludwig looked around at the group. "But we can't just run in there. If he took Matthew he may try to take the others as well."

"But he's not taking hybrids with mates." Everybody turned to see Alfred rubbing his head as he looked at the group and smiled. "Hi ya everybody."

"You shouldn't be moving around yet love!" Arthur tried to keep Alfred from standing but the other waved him off. "I'm fine. I've been through worse."

"He has a point. If the two of them go in, he wouldn't try to catch them. However I don't feel good about simply throwing you two in there alone." Ludwig began slightly pacing trying to think of a safer plan. He barely knew these two hybrids, but he wasn't about to throw them into such a dangerous situation. Especially after one of them had already been electrocuted.

"We wouldn't be going alone though. The two over there are another pair of mates aren't they?" Alfred pointed to Antonio and Lovino who both froze as neither had told the others about this yet. They had been lucky Feliciano hadn't found them out, but that was probably because Antonio's scent was so similar to Lovino's.

"Ve~ Mates?" Feliciano hopped over to his brother and then moved over to sniff Antonio. "You are a cat now! Lovi, why didn't you tell me?"

"There were more damn pressing matters at the time. You would've fucking found out eventually anyway." Feliciano hugged his brother and kept saying congratulations. Ludwig took a minute to register the new news but then quickly reformed his plan.

"I think I know how we can pull this off now. Bruder, I need your help finding a few things. Could you help?" Gilbert turned to his younger brother and nodded.

"Of course. I finally have a chance to be totally awesome and save my Birdy!" This earned a strange look from Alfred, but both of the brothers had soon exited the room. It only took a few seconds for a very uncomfortable silence to fill it. It was so palpable that even Feliciano felt it as it circulated around the room.

"If we're going to be bloody doing this together, we need to get this resolved once and for all." Arthur crossed his arms and Antonio's glare softened slightly.

"I suppose so. Then I only have one question for you. Why weren't you at Francis' funeral?" Arthur didn't even hesitate in his answer.

"My office in England had recently had a bomb scare. Afterwards they would inspect everybody's mail and we usually got it weeks late. That included the letter that I received that told me of his death. By the time I got the letter his funeral had been finished already. I came back immediately and the first place I went was his grave. I didn't mean to miss it, and if I had known I would have been there with the rest of you. He was the only family I had left after all."

Antonio stared at him for a second before smiling sadly. "We've both been idiots haven't we? He never liked us fighting before, why would he want us fighting now?"

Arthur returned his sad expression and moved forward extending his hand. "I wouldn't say we're mates, that sounds even stranger now that we're both hybrids, but no more foolish arguing?" Antonio stared down at the Brit's hand before slowly grasping it with his own. He nodded in agreement and Feliciano clapped his hands together.

"Yay! Now we're all friends ve~!" Alfred nodded his head in agreement before wrapping his arms around Arthur's shoulders, who blushed red but leaned back into the touch. "We just need to get Mattie back and everything will be perfect!"

"Then let's get started on that!" Gilbert and Ludwig walked back into the room with a bag that Ludwig was carrying.

"Let's go. I'll explain the plan on the way there."

**Time for the rescue! I'm so happy today, I bought three USUK doujins so I'm even more so. Plus I had a lot of chocolate, people said I get a weeeeee bit hyper when I have chocolate. I act like a child~ I think one of my teachers thought I was tipsy while we were in Italy (we had wine at every meal. I don't like wine XP) but I had only had chocolate. When I told him I had had no wine he was like really?**

**I also had a laughing fit when I remembered that in England you can call good friends 'mates'. That was not planned, it just popped into my head. In America, it means a completely different thing.**

** Anyway, ta ta for now~**


	18. Chapter 17

**I LIVE! Hi, all! My stupid cable/internet went out when my neighbor was getting some weird cord for their stuff. I missed the opening ceremonies of the Olympics DX Imma kill them! I went back and watched it online though so happy~ **

**Also, I'm become obsessed with Shimeji. ...Yeah. They're just so damn cute! :3**

**Anyways, onwards to the story!**

"Mmm…Wha-Where am I?" Matthew looked around as best as he could in his fatigued form. Why was he so tired again? He could tell that he was still a cat because he could still feel his whiskers and his sight was from a lower spot. He didn't recognize his surroundings though.

The walls were that type of cold metal that warehouses were sometimes made of, or the ones he had seen before. He couldn't see all the way to the walls though as various types of equipment were littered throughout the space. He, himself was lying on some type of cold surface, a table maybe? The machines closest to him looked much like ones people kept in hospitals.

He tried to stand but found that he couldn't. He wasn't strapped down or anything, but he couldn't make his legs stand up. What was going on? He tried to remember back as far as he could. He had heard from Lovino about Alfred and had run off to a park. He had found Alfred with his…his mate. That had been quite a shock. They had parted ways then, then, then what? He had felt something surge through his body then he had passed out.

His ears twitched when he heard voices coming from somewhere beside him. He managed to turn his head just enough to spot two people in doctor's robes a little ways from him. They were making something; they looked like one of those crazy chemists. One was a tall man with chocolate brown hair, who was currently the one mixing…something together with something else. The other was a girl with short black hair who was looking rather impatiently at the other. He did his best to catch what they were saying from his position.

"How much longer are you gonna take?" The man didn't take his eyes away from his concoction as the girl continued to speak to him. "Come on! At least talk to me! What are we investigating with this one!?"

"…How about the eyes?" The girl looked dumb-struck and then her glare returned. "Why the eyes?"

"Normal cats are believed to be able to see colors between the low and mid-range spectrum, blues and yellows. However, colors like red are believed to be seen as a gray color. Humans on the other hand can see the entire spectrum of colors. If Hybrids are half-human, can they see this full spectrum when they're cats?"

"Oh~! I see, that is an interesting question! So, tests or dissection?" Matthew cringed as he waited for the answer from the busy doctor(?).

"Tests would be the conventional way, watching what he responds to. Although, it may be easier to just take an eye and examine it. See how many rods and cones are there under the microscope." The girl looked ecstatic. "So dissection?"

"That's what I'm preparing the serum for. It will sedate him while we perform the operation." Matthew fought desperately to move. He couldn't let them dissect him! He was rather fond of his eyes after all, why couldn't they just ask him? Yes, he could see all the colors like a human, so there is no need to take my eye.

A hand rested on his back and he turned, fearing that there was a third doctor. His eyes widened when they met a pair of red eyes instead. He nearly mewed in joy, but Gilbert made a motion that meant to keep quiet. He listened and allowed himself to be silently lifted off of what he could now identify as an operating table. The doctors didn't seem to notice as they slowly moved back into the shadows.

"Great! Then let's get-hey where's the Hybrid!?" The girl had turned to an empty table and the man whirled around just as quickly. They were about to run to look when electrical sparks from behind them caught their attention. Half of the machinery cut off or wasn't working properly.

"Shit!" The woman ran over to the machines to try to figure out what was wrong. The man continued forward and got alarmingly close to where Gilbert was crouched down holding Matthew to his chest. He nearly fell over when something brushed against his legs. He whisked around quickly, but only saw the form of a cat running in the other direction. He quickly took chase but knew that there was no way that cat could be moving around!

Gilbert stood and moved towards an exit as he held Matthew close. Matthew tried his best to get his voice to work until he finally managed a sentence. "W-Who …was that?" Gilbert looked down at him and grinned.

"That was Al. He's the diversion while the awesome me gets you to safety. West and Feliciano are creating a barricade so I have to get out too 'cause I can't fit through the other hole." Matthew didn't completely understand what was going on.

If Feliciano and Ludwig were here, then Antonio and Lovino probably were too. That also applied to Alfred and Arthur. However, where were the others? He hadn't seen Lovino, Antonio, or Arthur? Were they outside? But one of them probably had something to do with the machinery. His head began to spin as he thought in his tired state, but he did feel when Gilbert tripped over something.

"Give us that cat back!" The man had come out of nowhere and tackled Gilbert from behind. Even as he fell over, he protected Matthew from the fall. The albino sat up and attempted to kick the other off of his legs, but the man held strong.

"No way bastard! He's not your science experiment!" Matthew looked over as another figure leapt on top of the scientist, effectively making him release his hold. Gilbert pulled away and stepped back so Matthew could now see Alfred wrestling with the scientist. "Go! Get Mattie out of here!"

Gilbert nodded and began to run, but quickly lost his footing as his ankle gave out on him. At some point during their struggle, the scientist had managed to severely brush his ankle. He couldn't walk let alone run. Alfred realized this but was still fighting off his own adversary. The man managed to overpower the Hybrid in a moment of fury and raised his arm, preparing to punch the Hybrid.

Matthew let out a sound of shock and Alfred braced himself for the hit that never came. A buzzing sound emanated from behind them, and the man soon fell unconscious on top of Alfred. The Hybrid quickly pushed him off and looked up to see Arthur with the same cattle prod from before.

"How do you like it when someone does it to you bastard?" Arthur helped Alfred up and they quickly made it over to where Gilbert was sitting with Matthew. This was when they finally took notice of the cat perched on Arthur's shoulder.

"Who's that?" Gilbert asked pointing to the small black and white cat.

"A Hybrid. I looked for any others like I was supposed to, but he's the only one who was here. I don't believe they did anything life-threatening to him yet. Antonio and Lovino should be finishing up with the other scientist so we should head out."

Everyone nodded and Alfred supported Gilbert's weight as Arthur carried Matthew. They hadn't been that far from the exit and they could already make out the near-complete barricade. Ludwig spotted them from the outside and ran over to the small opening. Alfred and Ludwig both maneuvered the Prussian through the opening and Arthur passed Matthew on to Feliciano, who hugged him immediately upon receiving him.

"Ve~ We were so worried Mattie! Don't make us worry like that again okay?" Feliciano had tears running down his face and Matthew simply nodded, for once not minding the overly-loving actions of the Italian. The three who were remaining turned into their cat forms and exited through the small opening that had been left specifically for them. Once outside, all waited with baited breath for the remaining two that were inside.

It felt life ages before a familiar feline head poked his head out before coming out with another cat. Feliciano ran over and picked up his brother and hugged him along with Matthew. Antonio changed back into his human form as did Arthur and Alfred. Lovino did the same as soon as he was released from his brother's death grip.

"Now that we are all here, we need to head back to my house immediately." Ludwig said and all attention was on him.

"What about the scientists?" Feliciano asked from beside him. Ludwig looked to the now completed barricade and then turned to Antonio.

"Call the police and tell them that two suspicious characters are inside here. They'll determine what to do with them when they see what's inside. We need to treat bruder's ankle and make sure that Matthew is okay as well."

"Chill out West, I'm fine! Something like this isn't enough to stop me in my tracks!" Gilbert laughed from where he was sitting.

"Says the idiot who can't walk." Antonio laughed and hugged Lovino from behind. He then pulled out his phone and did as he was told. Matthew felt like smiling at seeing everyone he cared about together again. With a few new additions as well, but there was something else bothering him at the moment.

Whenever he tried to change into human form, he remained as a cat.

***shot* I can't do action scenes...like at all. I hope this wasn't too bad or too rushed. I spent a few days trying to get it right. And you can assume that something involving an angry Spaniard happened to the female scientist :3**

**Btw, anyone guess who the new cat is? I just had to through him in there because I need him for something later~**


	19. Chapter 18

**Currently vacationing at Emerald Isle and trying to avoid reading Moby Dick. Mwahaha, tumblr and fanfiction! There are a lot of cockroaches here though XP (And we can't find our pet praying mantis .) Oh, and to the reviewer who asked about where I watched the Olympics, sorry it wasn't online, it was ondemand with comcast. For once comcast comes through!**

**And I don't remember if I mentioned this already, but OMG SEASON 5!**

"He what!?" Gilbert looked desperately at Lovino who repeated what he had just stated beforehand.

"Matthew. Says. He. Can't. Fucking. Change. Back! How much clearer can I damn be!?" The room's inhabitants had turned to stare at the white cat that was sitting on the couch with lowered ears. Feliciano and Antonio were in their feline forms and trying to comfort the other cat. Ludwig had tended to Gilbert's foot, but the albino was still walking with a limp.

It had only been a day since their rescue mission, and everyone was still at Ludwig's house. The news had come on and mentioned that the police had caught two 'people with apparent mental problems' in the warehouse. No one would believe their claims about Hybrids and who could blame them? However, Matthew had been unable to change back throughout this entire period. He had thought that whatever it was may have worn off eventually, but it hadn't.

"They may have done something to prevent him from changing. We can't ask them anymore though." Ludwig spoke from where he stood behind the couch littered with cats. The two Germans couldn't hear what the cats were saying and their only translator at the moment was Lovino, who probably wouldn't tell them anything. Matthew was curled up at this point and Feliciano was near tears from a lack of knowing what to do.

"We could ask the bobtail if Alfred and Arthur can ever get him to fucking change." Lovino went and sat on the couch, Antonio curling up on his lap. Lovino stroked his mate while also offering a comforting hand to Matthew.

The two brothers looked uncertainly at each other. They had picked up another Hybrid during their rescue of Matthew. However, he had secluded himself and had originally only talked to Arthur. He eventually opened up to Alfred when Arthur assured him that the other Hybrid was okay. Whenever anyone else came around, other than Matthew, he would run off. At the moment Alfred and Arthur were trying to coax him out from under a piece of furniture on the other side of the room, both currently human.

"Come on Tama!" Alfred called to the cat. The Hybrid had refused to tell them his actual name and told them that a past owner had called him Tama. Arthur moved his hand towards Tama and almost had a grip on the other's scruff when the cat ran off. Alfred was quick enough to catch him before he ran off again though and held the reluctant cat in his lap.

"Please release me Alfred-san. I need some time to think to myself at the moment." Tama mewed to his captor and Arthur came over to sit beside them.

"No can do. Sorry Tama but we really need your help right now!" Tama calmed down and stared at the American before reluctantly nodding. Alfred grinned. "Great! Do you know anyway to change Mattie back? It'd be a lotta help if ya know something."

Tama looked past Alfred to where he saw Matthew laying on the couch. Lovino had turned back into a cat once more, leaving Gilbert and Ludwig to discuss possible ways that might work. They had already tried water, which had been the most vital sign that something was wrong. Their knowledge was limited though and they couldn't come up with anything, What they needed was Tama's gathered knowledge. He was a much older Hybrid them the rest of them.

"Matthew-san doesn't have mate I assume?" Both Alfred and Arthur nodded. "Kissing his mate would probably allow him to regain the ability to change forms. I don't believe anything will work, and I do not know how long it would take for whatever they injected in him to wear off."

"This would be much easier if you changed into human form to explain it to everyone." Arthur stated and Tama shook his head. "I'd much prefer that I don't have to do that. I…I knew some of these people before and I have stayed much too long. They never knew that I was a Hybrid, but as I don't age, I had to leave."

Alfred understood the situation, but he also knew that everyone here had had their fair share of Hybrid encounters by now. "Come on dude, nearly everyone here is a Hybrid. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't find it weird anymore."

Tama looked uncertain and Alfred sighed, putting him down. "Just know they won't hate ya 'kay?" With that the pair of mates walked over to the rest of the group, leaving Tama to his own thoughts. Alfred turned into a cat to join in comforting his brother, while Arthur explained what might work to the German brothers.

"Kiss his mate? But he doesn't have one!" Gilbert exclaimed from where he sat in one of the adjoining chairs. Ludwig rolled his eyes as his brother stated the obvious. Arthur looked directly at him and leaned in a bit closer.

"Are you sure you don't have any feelings for him?" Gilbert's face went red at this and he looked over to where his Birdy was still curled up. He looked back to Arthur who was waiting for an answer.

"I-I don't know. And even if I do how do you know he'll like me!?" Gilbert was a blushing mess as he tried to deny his feelings to himself and everyone around him.

"Bruder, it's quite obvious that he has feelings for you." It was Ludwig's turn to receive a glare from the albino who huffed and crossed his arms. The cats on the couch were looking at him now, even Matthew had looked up slightly.

"It couldn't hurt to try right?" Arthur walked over and picked up Matthew gently, bringing him over to Gilbert. The white cat sat on Gilbert's lap and looked at him a bit shyly. It was his turn to feel that slightly queasy feeling in his stomach as he looked up at his owner. Gilbert looked uncertain and turned back to Arthur.

"All I have to do is kiss him right? Surely someone as awesome as me can do that!" He tried to cover his nervousness with humor, but it didn't help anything. He picked up Matthew and stared at him for a second. He was about to kiss a cat. He was about to kiss Birdy. He was about to kiss Matthew.

Wanting to get it over with, he pulled the cat towards him and kissed him, trying to ignore the fact that it was kind of difficult to kiss a cat like a human. He pulled back though as a strange sensation filled his body and he could feel himself change. He opened his eyes to see that he was face-to-face with a feline Matthew.

"Y-You're my mate, eh?" Matthew said a little shakily, but Gilbert could hear the happiness behind the timid voice. Gilbert was just happy that he could understand the Hybrid. He looked himself over and admired his white fur, but his eye felt a little strange.

"See? That wasn't so bad, right Gilbert?" Both cats turned to see Arthur and Antonio staring at them, the Spaniard at some point changing into a human form. Arthur had a teasing smile and Antonio had his normal cheery smile. "Can you change back, mi amigos?"

Gilbert concentrated and was soon back to his human form, but Matthew remained a cat. Gilbert rubbed the timid Hybrid's head and told him, "It'll be okay. Just watch you're going to change for sure this time! Would I ever lie to you?"

Matthew nodded and closed his eyes in concentration; he couldn't thing of the negatives. He thought of things that made him happy, things he normally thought of when changing. He thought of pancakes, the smell of maple leaves, spending time with his brother, his old stuffed polar bear from so long ago, and now he could think of his mate who was encouraging him. The normal light began to engulf his body and he could soon feel his limbs grow and his body change. When he opened his eyes, he was human.

"It worked!" Gilbert hugged him quickly while the others all changed back into their human forms. Feliciano and Lovino came over and acted as they normally did; Feliciano near tears and Lovino with a smile but not allowing himself to say anything too nice. Alfred ran over and hugged his brother before glaring at Gilbert clearly sending the message of "you do anything wrong and I'll skin you alive."

While the others were chatting happily Arthur walked back over to Tama, who was watching with a smile. "Personally, I suggest that you change back now. Gilbert will surely recognize your voice Kiku."

Kiku stared at him in mild shock. "How did you know my name, Arthur-san?"

"I met you once before Francis passed. I recognized your way of speaking immediately. It's not important if you don't remember me, it was a brief meeting." Arthur held out a hand to Kiku, who smiled and changed forms, taking Arthur's offered hand before the Brit helped him up.

"Kiku?" Ludwig hadn't been able to stop himself from gaping as he immediately recognized his friend. Everyone turned to where the Japanese man was now standing. Kiku bowed to the others whom he hadn't met before and introduced himself.

"Ohaiyou gozaimasu. I am Kiku Honda. It's a pleasure to meet you all and to see old friends once more." Gilbert, Ludwig, and Antonio were looking at him in confusion.

"Kiku, you were a Hybrid?" Ludwig managed to speak through his shock.

"Ve~ Do you know him Luddi?" Feliciano had gone over to the German after he had seen Matthew.

"Hai, I went to school with Ludwig-kun. However, since I am a Hybrid with a mate, it would not have been long until people realized that I don't age. I was leaving when I was captured by those two people. I thank you all for getting me out of there, and I'm glad I could be of help."

"Why didn't you ever tell us?" Gilbert asked what both he and Ludwig wanted to hear.

"Would you have believed me Gilbert-san?" The German knew that he wouldn't have. It had been hard enough believing Matthew and everyone else.

"Well I guess you're right. That just leave one more thing that we need to clear up!" Gilbert grinned mischievously and looked at his brother, who was still getting over his shock that his best friend had been a Hybrid all along. "Come on West! Be awesome and kiss Feliciano already!"

"What!? There's no fucking way I'm letting that potato bastard kiss my brother!" Lovino yelled but was grabbed from behind by Antonio. "Come on Lovi~! You gotta let them try! If he isn't his mate then there will be no more kisses!"

"Why should I kiss Feliciano? I have no reason to!" Gilbert kept grinning at him and Feliciano hopped over. "I wouldn't mind kissing Luddi! Ve~ I do like him!"

"You like everybody!" Ludwig tried to shoo the Italian away while Gilbert laughed at his antics.

"Scared West? He can't even give you one kiss, how unawesome of you." Ludwig looked down to see Feliciano looking at him with a sad expression. "Does Luddi not like me?"

"T-That's not it! I just-I-I!" He grumbled something under his breath and finally sighed. "Fine."

Feliciano squealed with delight and hopped up to give Ludwig a kiss to the lips. Ludwig hadn't been expecting to feel nervous but he couldn't back out now. It only took a few seconds before their lips met. Ludwig couldn't say he hated it, but he soon grew terrified as he felt his body change and fall to the floor, thankfully landing on his feet.

He looked at his gray fur in bewilderment before he was tackled by a familiar Italian cat. "Yay! Luddi's my mate! Now we can give kisses and make pasta and cuddle and…" Feliciano kept listing things as Ludwig tried to ignore the death glare he was receiving from Lovino, who was being restrained by Antonio. Kiku had somehow gotten a camera and was snapping pictures while the others all stared, grinned, or laughed.

"I don't think you can deny it anymore West!"

**THEY ALL HAVE MATES! YAY! I'm sad though, cuz I only have one more chapter of this to write. *sad face* I'm kind of glad though because I was starting to lose interest and I didn't want to abandon this one like before! (This story is actually something I thought of last summer while we were vacationing in Vegas. I left it for a while and came back.) I actually found some hand-written drafts and the story changed so much! XD**

**By the way, the USUK ship has taken my mind hostage again. I blame tumblr.**


	20. Chapter 19

**I just want to thank all the lovely reviewers who stuck around throughout the entire story. It always made me so happy to read all the reviews after a chapter was published. I had some free time so I managed to write this rather quickly. Enjoy~**

It has been over a year since everything happened. Matthew sat on their new porch as he thought back to all that had happened since he had been captured. A lot had happened, but nothing terribly dramatic.

After all the chaos of finding mates and him being able to change between forms once more, everything had calmed down. Kiku had informed them all about a village where a community of Hybrids had made permanent residence. He and his mate, Heracles, had lived there for over a decade and he had left for a while to learn about engineering. It would help the other residents and many did similar things to learn skills that would benefit the community as a whole.

He had offered everyone the opportunity to join the community. The village was exclusively for Hybrids who had found mates. They wouldn't turn away those who hadn't, but would help them and send them out once more. There were a few children who were too young to search for mates living there though.

Since all of them had found their mates they were welcome. Kiku allowed them all some time to think and added that he would be returning soon. He would lead anyone who wanted to come right away.

It hadn't taken long and the next day everyone had agreed to come, however at different times. Gilbert and Matthew had chosen to follow Kiku as had Antonio and Lovino. Ludwig had wanted to earn some money by selling the house and getting everything out of the bank that his grandfather had left them. It would take some time, but having extra money could help a growing village later on. Kiku said it wasn't necessary, but Ludwig was insistent. Since Feliciano wouldn't go without his mate, he remained behind with Ludwig.

Arthur had to finish some business in England that he had been planning to do anyway. His job was one where he couldn't just vanish without people searching for him. He would have to close deals and actually quit to prevent people searching. He didn't have any family that would search, so that was all he had to do. Alfred, of course, had to go along to make sure the Brit was safe and sound. Matthew couldn't help but laugh when he saw how overprotective his brother was. Unless it was being directed towards Gilbert.

Kiku had left both pairs directions to find the town, but also instructed them not to tell any humans. They would get suspicious if they found a town that didn't age. Kiku, Matthew, Gilbert, Lovino, and Antonio had left a few days later. The town was located in a hidden valley in the Rocky Mountains. It was only accessible by creatures as small as cats, which meant that normal humans couldn't gain access.

It was a nice town with kind people. Most of the homes were cabins, as there was a lack of brick and concrete in such a desolate place. However, the Hybrids had found ways to keep the homes heated and provide electricity. Matthew didn't ask how as every time he did, he got a very technical answer.

When they arrived Kiku had gone and found his mate, bringing him over to meet the others. Heracles was a nice person, if not lazy. He showed showed his feline tendencies even as a human. Afterwards, they had introduced them to some of the other residents. Toris and Feliks, Matthias and Lukas, Berwald and Tino, and Roderich and Elizaveta were a few of the couples they met. They soon discovered that some had lived here for over a century, while others only a decade or two.

There was only one cabin available at the moment and three more would soon be built. At the present time, Matthew and Gilbert had taken the original cabin as their home, while Antonio and Lovino had moved into a newly built one. A third one was under construction at the time. Since they somehow had service out here, Gilbert had received a call from Ludwig that he and Feliciano would be leaving in a week.

That meant that they would be rooming with Matthew and Gilbert for a few days while their own cabin was being constructed. Matthew hadn't heard from Alfred and Arthur yet, but neither were really the type to call before they came. They could be on their way right now and he wouldn't have known.

Matthew smiled. He couldn't wait for them all to be reunited again. Gilbert came out at this time and sat beside his mate, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek that made the Canadian blush.

"It's our turn to head to town. You ready?" Matthew nodded and stood from his spot.

"Yes. I just hope you don't get us lost again." Gilbert laughed his normal, yet strange, cackle and stood up as well.

"Someone as awesome as me can't get lost! …Twice!" Matthew simply nodded and headed towards the town entrance with an energetic Prussian following him the entire way.

**Okay, so I've been thinking of maybe continuing this in another story with a new central character, maybe someone who stumbles upon the town. Maybe Sealand? Lolz. We'll see where that goes, but I would probably use him or another character who hasn't been mentioned. Not many to choose from... Maybe a Francis reincarnation could pop up too, who knows?**

**Anyway thanks for reading! Imma be parasailing tomorrow so hope you all have a nice August~**


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